Chocolate Pudding Drabbles
by Konductor
Summary: A collection of NepNowa! Holding all sorts of ideas, so read to your heart's content. There's other ships sprinkled in too, depending on the story, but the main is between Purple and Black Heart
1. Maelstrom I

**_Hello, Konductor here! This is the first of many short stories, though, this may get a continuation in the future if my BSN course hasn't killed me. Ha. This is probably going to get edited again, the whole Doc Manager ate the bold and italics that were in place, so that's another thing to do._**

 ** _Anyways, I hope you enjoy and continue to read! Thank you!_**

 ** _This is, by the way, an AU in Superdimension with events slightly tweaked. In this particular scenario, Black's dealing with a Purple Heart who hasn't been picked off by the others and lacks amnesia, hence the out of character attitude. She's the all around arrogant and powerful goddess who could them a run for their money, not entirely our lovable Nep._**

 ** _Posted: 10/9/18_**

 ** _Edited: 10/18/18_**

* * *

"You know, this is more work than what I anticipated." Purple Heart remarks, grinning at the sight of her harried opponent. "It would be so much easier if you just surrendered to me, Black."

Teal orbs harden, "In your dreams."

The violet deity smirks, very pleased with the concept of that occurring in both sleep and reality. That would be quite the treat to be awarded with after a long day's work. Worthy of someone as divine as herself, indeed. "Well… that can be arranged too. You're tired and barely fighting back against me. I will not look down upon you for giving up now of all times."

Exhaling once more, Black Heart shakes her head and positions herself once again to shield whatever blow the teen before her intends to do. She couldn't recall why they were at it again, only that they were fighting and that it required all her energy to focusing on this infuriating woman!

They both had a fine sheen of sweat covering them. This battle had been going on for hours now, their regularly scheduled interruptions were trapped in their own struggle together.

Light bruises and superficial cuts covered their bodies from this unending cycle of theirs. It was more so prominent in the darker CPU, having taken it upon herself to use a much less self-preserved fighting style. Purple, while not spotless, lack the majority of the injuries that marred her rival's skin. But that did not mean she was not feeling the consequences of this continuous conflict.

How her adorable little rival acquired so much stamina and willpower was a question for another day.

Murky eyes narrow, the intent behind them blindingly clear for Purple despite the color blurring with uncertainty. It was cute. "I refuse. Consider every other offer you have hidden up your sleeve rejected as well."

"You really must take the high road then, Black." The twin-tailed goddess sighs, a playful smile crossing her lips. She rushes forward after that, katana at the ready without a second's relief. The blade screaming for more blood as it grinds against its bulkier counterpart.

Between the two, Planeptune's ruler had Lastation's beat in terms of physical skill. There was no real competition when it came to that area of expertise. She was the strongest of the four goddess after all, none of the other three stood a chance. Set her against Black and, well, who the hand of victory would fall to was a foregone conclusion.

But that didn't mean the darker of the two deities wouldn't put up a fight in return.

No, no, why would the spitfire ever think of ruining their engagement like that?

This was their lives at stake, the rush of blood and adrenaline pulled and tugged at their ironclad control. The title of 'True Goddess' meant nothing between these two rivals, it was another trophy to be shown and the bait the others hungered for.

Survival might as well be the girl's middle name with the mountain of tricks she pulled. An attractive, treacherous little foe, Purple had the happiest chance of keeping for herself.

You see, White and Green Heart couldn't even handle the weight of the warlord's killing intent. For dear Black to stand up to her… well, that was an admirable sight. However, praise did not mean Purple would be going easy against her.

As laudable as she was, the fourth was still a ghastly foe to throw her sword against.

Defiance seems to be a specialty of Black's, scrapping up whatever she could was a niche that belonged solely to her. Paying no heed to that fact would be a grave oversight. Exchanging blows with her had to be met with caution, it wouldn't do if her kitten were to win.

So underhanded tactics it was! And while honor was important to maintain, this was a dance between two divinities, not mortals fighting over something simple.

Dealing with Black meant raising the bar a couple notches, having an opponent who would not go down forced that hand into play. A little annoying, seeing how fast she could gather momentum, but that had yet to mean anything towards victory. All this win would take is a tiny shift of balance. One simple task that shouldn't take long at all.

Catching her off guard wasn't hard, the white-haired immortal was the jumpy type. But when coming at her with the katana is quickly accompanied by a burst of heat, Purple has to change her plans. Fire. Because of course, Black had to resort to using such a volatile element. Blistering and blazing were adjectives fitting for someone as impassioned as her.

She didn't bow easily, her little goddess loved to struggle with that bright spark in hand.

At the same time, that flame would be her rival's downfall. Poetic, really. Getting the perimeters behind the teen wasn't an arduous task or anything, quite the contrary, her baseline was a steady thing. No, instead it was that disobedience that everyone who stood against her had to look out for.

The patron was prepared for it, however. How many times has the spirited little immortal pulled this trick out of her bag? Dozens upon dozens with a multitude of variations to spice the clashes up. It was a relentless form of evolution in strength for her. Pain and pride meant nothing if it equated to more. That was the daily dance. One or the other would have to step up their game.

Black undoubtedly deserved the title of the joker, just as Purple stood as the warlord of the four CPUs. Though, Purple had no intention of being bested this time, not with her new trump card in hand.

This time would be different, for it was a learning experience as much as it was a battle of wills. It didn't become mere clockwork and it was outrageously fun for something so deadly a dance. Fighting against her was what she looked forward to. The world might as well revolve around these brief moments. Purple hoped that the snow-headed teen felt the same.

Given how those blue-green hues were burning, she would have to check that as a yes. Even if they were blurred by the encroachment of that darker haze. Black always looked so iridescent in the light of conflict. Raging and smoldering with that will to live and it was just irresistible.

Could anyone blame the warlord from wanting to have her for herself?

So Purple was being a tad proprietorial with her constant contender. It was fine, wasn't it? Her rival was just as bad, becoming all growly and hostile to the other half of the four whenever they interrupted.

They were both adolescents now. Finally blooming into true guardians of their nations, according to her dutiful and mildly fanatical people. Possessiveness was understandable when they were always tip toeing the line of unofficial and official. Honestly, if she didn't have enough patience, Purple would have ravaged the girl long before this. But no, she had finesse and control and couldn't just steal someone else's purity like that.

The CPU was going to rightfully claim Black's purity and everything else that follows. An ingenious plan to get Lastation and her worthy little half in hand.

There was a slight disagreement in viewpoints there, though.

On growing that is, no one knew of the plans for her partner. Slight, because Purple could understand the good of the CPUs growing, she enjoyed it because she had the chance to see the subject to her infatuation grow into herself. But the process was still a trying thing to go through. Worthy sights aside, puberty and growing up was a pain.

Hormones and attitudes were on the rise, none of the four goddesses were spared that. Hell, Green Heart had tripled in sheer arrogance when her growth spurt settled in and while, yes, Purple did have some of that, she wasn't as in-your-face as the seafoam-haired CPU. Then that White Heart started to lose her temper — which was already rather short to begin with — more and more with each and every poke and jab from the boxum ruler.

Thankfully, dear Black refrained from getting involved, despite her tentative ties to that of Leanbox.

Instead, the snow-haired deity took to being passive-aggressive, but something like that was manageable to deal with. Verbal sparring was another highlight of her day, the dance between them no weaker than it has always been. Any shot thrown at her was given back as retaliation with the fourth. It was so amusing to watch that vindictive glint her eyes gleam with dark intent. Purple couldn't help herself.

She was a little bit addicted to Black.

Perhaps vice versa, and a trickster fit perfectly with her plans.

Then again, when hasn't she considered the white-haired CPU worthy? It was immediate, the fact that Black had caught her attention out of the four. That headstrong and curious mindset paired with her need to analyze and shred whatever dared to obstruct her path. Other than that, there was that adorable reaction from when she poked Black enough.

Goddess, just the memory of the trickster going red from a stray comment and glimpse was invigorating. Embarrassment and any form of intense emotion looked so good on her. Resisting the impulse to do it was so inconvenient. The twin-tailed teen rarely restrained herself from toying with her, Purple couldn't help the urge.

And when all her hard work was finally coming to fruition, well, how could someone like her deny herself pushing a little further?

"What. Did you.. Do?" Flames wreathed her rival as they halted their duel for a moment of respite. The trickster was wheezing, body weakly rocking with Celestia's meek wind. Her face giving the impression that she was floundering even with standing.

She shakes her head, a serpentine smile spreading across her lips. Her trump card was doing its job it seemed. Good news after good news, Purple really was blessed. "Nothing of the sort. I have been sincere throughout this brawl of ours, my blade has been the only weapon you have been dancing with today. I can't say much else to placate you. If you are feeling drained, I did urge you to set down your sword and surrender beforehand."

"L–Liar." Hm, was her rival that aware of the poison? She was obviously intune with her body to know when it was being tampered with. Cute and to some degree worrying, but nothing of solid concern.

The deity of Planeptune was going to snatch victory from hands of defeat. No one in the world was going to get in the way of her winning Black. It was a surprise to find out how susceptible she was to drugs. What Purple expected was her fluffy-haired divinity to be able to hold for a bit longer.

Effective, but perhaps too effective, seeing as how rapid her reactions build.

She hoped this wasn't too hard a jab at the trickster's ability.

This could easily backfire.

"I am no liar, my stormy little kitten. Out of the two of us, you're the one who plays the part of the deceiver more often than not. The blatant use of half-truths and fabrications of yours make it.. difficult to believe anything you have to say in full face value. Not to mention your constant usage of subterfuge on the three of us."

A hazy pair of eyes glare at her. "You're just as guilty as me, m-mongrel. I'm not the only fibber out of the four goddesses. Just, just because White and Green believe otherwise, doesn't mean I can't see what games you've been playing." Now that would be threatening, if only she didn't look so pitiful as she forced herself to stand upright. Goddess, she looked adorable.

"Really? So you have been staring at me." The triumph in her voice was as plain as day.

That blistering inferno roars at her admission, just barely showing the unabashed fluster that had bloomed on the Black's face. Scarlet flames searing the air they briskly consumed until it all burned an azure blue. In an instant, the area is quickly reduced into cinders and smoke as the kitten's embarrassment rises into an exponential level. If this wasn't somewhat testing on her control, Purple would be laughing at how far gone she was. Everything that was happening was just priceless, she, fully, truly, was in love.

"S-Shut up!" Cue the brandishing of her now flaming greatsword. Heat swallows their makeshift battleground as the immortal doubles down on her stance, anger melding with her swings.

Each movement intensifying as the twin-tailed teen gracefully dodged the progressively sluggish attacks. Good, good, this meant things were working.

Blocking the advance forward with her katana, cerulean meets an opaque teal. "I'll repeat myself once more, set aside your pride and surrender. Continue with this rebellion and you will see yourself fail once again!"

The flames erupt in a scorching torrent, "I said be silent!" Purple only smiles as the fire only licks at her, providing more for the hot spell than any damage towards herself. Instead of the volatile element, it was the sword that was haphazardly being twirled around like a literal toy. Viciously so, with that bulky blade able to do grievous harm.

Indeed, her infatuation was a dangerous foe, but she had a soft side for Purple. Black, even when she has the chance to strike her down, never makes the final move. All the swings directed at vitals failed to land a hit; in fact the blade tended to swerve away whenever possible. A protective, if not highly infuriated, gesture.

The adoration was there, brimming beneath the surface and watching and watching. The violet deity was all too willing to draw it out.

She grunted, growled, and glared but always failed to make true with her threat on Purple.

There is no bone in Lastation's ruler that wholeheartedly wanted her gone and dead, hopefully. Not when Purple consistently had her basking in the pull that attracted her. They were mutually driven towards each other, both of them had to be.

There's no other explanation for it otherwise. With the darker half of the pair so unintentionally sensual with her, how could Purple not think of that? The speculative relationship between the two of them was brimming over with intensity to be a mere hallucination.

She would fall for her and they would be together.

The other CPUs would be obstacles, however.

Of course, they would interfere with what was her happy ending.

Their opposing pair who represented the northern and southernmost nations were going to be thorns in her side. Particularly with her soon to be claiming of Black, because that reveal would not be ending anywhere close to nicely. It wouldn't work with their interests invested in Black and herself wholly being rivals and enemies.

Oh yes, she knew their little ploy.

It was an obvious move for power, divide what could be the most dangerous pair and conquer. Her partner was aware of it as well, the sneaky little ninja had filched quite the treasure trove of information with her networks. Rarely did she counteract any of the opposing pair's plans, though.

No, no, Black mere tweaked them in her favor and Purple was simple content to watching it all play out. The goddess was better than those two, why need to touch what their slimy little hands touched? They were better.

She would make her move when one of them decided on attacking Planeptune, self-defense and all. But on occasion, the shadow games between Black and herself were another pleasure entirely. Above the silly squabbles of them, above even mortal comprehension. They were both rather secretive people, despite the need to be so brash during their daily dalliances, it was fun.

The rush of being alive while trading blows with the contraction of a ruler.

Another point of her unquestionable adoration for the fluffy-haired individual. They were alike, yet so very different. If she had to name it, her little adversary was much less interactive as Purple was with her nexus of spies.

None of it was as painstakingly pathetic as Leanbox and Lowee's, no. That wouldn't do for someone as adaption-obsessed as her. Having Lastation's ruler be centered around more underworld affiliates was an unconventional discovery to unearth about her love. Different and much less savory than what the others would have liked, but it worked.

And that's what mattered. All the nations had some underbelly, it was only right for Black to control it. Purple would rule the worlds above as she puppeted the other half of the four while her overprotective lover made its riffraff bow to her.

She loved it.

The way her visage burns brightly with that pool of darkness hiding in the background.

How it contorts — always beautiful, always perfect, always for the teen's sake — she couldn't help herself. Passion suited her rival, smoothly devouring all that stood in her way, an eternal flame that gleefully licked up the affection the twin-tailed CPU threw her.

So very hungry and willing and all of it directed at her?

Someone as aberrant and devious as Purple needed Black.

What a perfect combination of goddesses, no?

Had she been more morally inclined, Purple might have raised some fuss on the topic, it was criminals and lowlives her partner had to deal with after all. She wasn't such a dainty deity, however, humanity was such a double-faced species. They had to be properly led, no matter what path in life they chose and her rival understood that. Black was capable of getting her hands dirty and doing what was needed for the sake of her nation. The rumors on bloodsoaked hands aside, she was the best for the job and the patron was happy to love her.

But, she was digressing. The other two were the ones they would soon be having a problem with.

White had a rather amiable relationship with Purple, they were kindred spirits in some ways. But there were a few things the blue-haired teen vehemently opposed.

Things that her and Black were capable of and currently doing.

Though, the majority of the enmity was at the latter, considering how frequently they clash on internal policies. So that one would have to be properly dealt with. Reasoning with her, while sometimes fruitful, lacked a good enough punch to make any real effect. Her niceties aside, White didn't matter as much as the teen before her right now

As for that of the tallest goddess?

Well, Green tended to dislike her. Just, a lot of animosity and contempt directed at her. Probably a mixture of Purple continuously playing with the snowy fluff ball, the whole discordance of principles between Planeptune and Leanbox, and the fact that Greenie actively dreaded her presence. But towards her adversary, there was a completely different attitude and the attention on Black was grating. Because of course the boisterous bitch wanted her.

Figures, that the arrogant chit would be scheming against her. They were nothing close to nice, Goddess forbid she has to act like that with her.

When didn't that girl want to strike at a few nerves? Playing the part of her rival's on-and-off ally to only dig the knife deeper. Those games would be over and done with now, Black had already fallen into her palm.

The deed was done after all.

Cloud-colored strands of hair blanketed the ground as their owner gasps and grunts for a chance to get upright. Her limbs had failed her and Purple gradually moves to crouch beside her body.

"Surprise~," the smugness threaded through the single word practically tangible. "Looks like all those hours of hard work had finally paid off in full. I finally ensnared my elusive little rival." Triumph, unlike any other moment in her history, rings like wedding bells in her chest.

Uncooperative, Black tries her hand and keens at the sight of limb simply twitching in response. A blink in befuddlement. Her struggles renews itself, head snapping side to side as she attempts to move. It won't work and it doesn't. The panic that was once benign in those blue-green eyes grows at an accelerated rate, practically malignant as logic is drowned.

She doesn't like seeing her love come apart, it doesn't look nor seem right. Torturing her was not the point of their impromptu closeness.

Purple didn't know why it was like this. How quickly her partner could be unwound so easily, how anyone could see this side of her pet-to-be, how a fear of this strength could develop in someone so defiant. It doesn't look right, panic and chaos not from her own hands.

If anyone, anything were to have the honor of doing that to Black, it was her. But this reaction wasn't caused by her and that bit into her skin, deeper than any blade.

And as much as Purple would deny it, causing Black to have a breakdown over a loss of physical control wasn't worth it. A pet the ruler would be, but a partner and an equal as well. None of the other women in the world of theirs warranted this much attention and effort.

The violet deity and her counterpart wanted to be fought for. Especially the latter, because she was entitled to it. A show, a sign, simple evidence that Purple was willing to do anything and everything possible in Gamindustri to win her over. Even if it meant sinking to unscrupulous methods to prove her resolution.

They had all the time in the world, no, the universe for this back and forth sort of life. She would be victorious, she's winning now after all. Winning and wants to remain so for as long as possible. There wasn't a sliver of a chance that she would give up now, not with it all in her grasp.

So, the distance is cut short and the warmth of another is exchanged underneath the shade of the tree. The area around them is mostly silent, labouring breathes draw to a close as their hearts beat in what has to be tandem.

One, they, two goddesses of opposing factions, almost one whole.

Almost, almost, almost.

She wanted to be complete now.

"Shhhhh, it's alright. You're fine, Black. I'm not going to hurt you. I only want to make you mine, no need to be unnerved." She says, body draped across her captive. Arms wrapped around the torso and as the immortal gives her a generous once over.

Black gasps for a few moments more, choking down whatever adorable noises might escape her. In that same vein, her struggling subsides and a cool tension shrouds them both. The scent of ash and incense to meanders through the air. A floating island ravaged with scorch marks. Hearts pounding together, slowing to beat in tandem with one another. Peaceful, a far cry to what had be occurring minutes ago. Victory and all that was left was keeping her grasp firmly on her stubborn little pet.

Control was her rival's safety net, she realized long ago.

A subtle thing, given how outright chaotic and surprise reliant her fluffy prisoner was in battle. But the need to have the battlefield remain semi-tilted in her favor wasn't. It took a lot of rewatching and observations just to see how tactically bent their four women brawl was.

Even a loss could be seen as a minor victory if things went according to the darker deity's plans. For example, the number of times she had tested a weapon on them was astounding.

Maintaining some form of dominion was virtually an practiced art for her partner. It was ingenious, considering that happened every single time they fought.

Given her reaction, the reasoning behind it was not all that surprising. Who would have known her kitten could be so violent when unable to move her body? It was justifiable. No one wanted to lose use of their limbs, primarily a patron of their regard. Movement was everything on the battlefield. Weaving through fighting and surviving was just as important.

For a divinity who fought throughout her entire life, Black's panic wasn't bad. She was here to console the teen. Purple wouldn't dare leave her alone after this, not when she was so close to victory. She had it in her hands now, so close, they were so close.

The clouds fail to part in the sky, forcing the pair to soak in their heat as the sun hides and in those moment of silence, she cuts through. "D-Don't do that. Don't ever do that again. I… I w-won't stand for it. You, you hear me?" Sniffing, her teal eyes try to blink the moisture away. She looked cute even with the tears.

It takes a moment her a moment to respond with such a heart-racing look directed at her..

"Hmm, how about no? You're not the one in charge here, my little goddess. I am and you are mine." The violet deity declares heatedly into her ear. She grins as her captive tenses up, her breath hitches, it went to show that the teen really was sensitive.

"I'm not something you can just claim, Purple, regarding this as a victory would be foolhardy." Black grunts, looking away from her tormentor.

She nuzzles her, indulging in her prisoner's inability to resist, her want to not resist. "You are and you're enjoying yourself, even in your denials." Purple whispers, letting her hands wander the developing body beneath her. And the darker CPU had to be liking the brief caresses with all the adorable sounds she was making. Priceless, this day was too priceless for either of them to quit now.

So cute, her fuzzy little kitten was much too inviting for her to ever resist. The impulsion to play and tease Black was an overwhelming thing. Having the possibility, having the chance, having the certainty that the girl she had been watching for the majority of her life was finally here. Wasn't now a time of utter rapture? There wasn't a single place she'd rather be than with her. She belonged to her after all, there would be no changing this reality of theirs. Like hell the other would ever triumph now.

"Why do you have such a perfect body? So balanced with the hips and the bust. They fit in my hands and are so firm, I'm almost jealous.." Purple whines, playing with a specific area of her pinned kitten. Cerulean eyes gleaming with hunger.

Ah, there's even more red on her face now and she's even coughing. "I–I'm going to wallop you if you keep your hands there. Get o–off of me."

"But.. you like it. I can feel the goosebumps on your skin, not to mention those harde—"

"Please. Stop talking."

"And if I wanna keep entertaining myself?" The violet divinity retorts, continuing with her game with the body beneath her. "You're so fun, Black, I can't help myself. You look good enough to eat, mouthwatering and absolutely delectable with that pout.." She moans, fully enjoying herself now that the snowy-haired teen was defenseless and verging on begging for more.

"You're going to k–kill me, you know that?"

-.-.-.-.-.-

"You stole my first kiss," whispered the blushing patron. Her face was covered by even more flustered hands, every part of her was red. Bite marks were marring what was visible on her neck, many more bruises were hidden underneath the clothing. With the processor torn to literal threads, it was the perfect time offer something to wear.

A glorious image to have in her arms. She was truly blessed, the world be damned, Purple had won and Black, her darling little Black was hers now. Their short petting session might as well confirm every single hope that blossomed in her chest.

She was giddy.

The immortal hasn't felt this way since the four had first met.

She licks her lips; the taste still on them and will remain on them for a long, long time now that the one in her arms will be staying with her for eternities to come. "I'll be stealing your other firsts as well. Resist me however you wish, but anything you do now will only amuse me. You want this too and it makes me so happy to confirm our feelings for one another. What remains is that of the other pair."

Black fails to reject the offer. She curls into her, eyes closed, "If I had any energy left, I would be smacking you, mongrel. Pulling this on me…"

"You love the attention, you were practically mewling. How could I not do this? I'm done waiting, done hesitating, done playing. Finding an opening and taking it was me being polite, Black. You're always so frustrated, why not have me take that burden off you? What I wanted in exchange was your loyalty, no, your fealty to me and me alone." She giggles, sending shivers down her counterpart's spine. "You want to be mine and I swear to treat you kindly."

There was a multitude of ways the darker CPU could respond to this.

Objecting would be the easiest, though.

Painless, when ignoring the reality that Black would always fall against Purple.

Under this mongrel, she would be a pet, an amusement, something that the idiot would come to toss aside in the future. At the same time, there was some honor in the twin-tailed teen, albeit hidden behind a stupid amount of mirrors.

The ruler of Lastation ought to not bother with fighting. A loss was a loss and with her body, and even perhaps her being, so easily swayed.. Winning was nil, she would be fighting in a losing war without any allies to back her up. In the end, she had truly failed.

"Fine. Whatever you want, fine. I'll go along with you, but don't expect a repeat of this. Utilizing my weakness in poisons will be covered next time, I refuse to be paralyzed by you again." It really was a shame that she was utter pants when chemicals got pulled into the equation, maybe then she would have lasted. "We aren't doing this again."

"We're not?" There's the teasing again. That violet-haired fool never stops. She's stuck dealing with this the same way she was stuck with leading a nation. It was exhausting and so was her life. It was a miracle she was even bothering.

Apathy was what best described her now that the four had gotten a hang of reigning over the populous.

That disinterest hadn't been there at the start, oh, she knew that very well. Black had been an eager girl willing to do what it takes and look at her now, purposeless and wandering. Ah, well, not currently, since Purple was more or less forcefully binding herself to her. She's heard the whispers and had an understanding on what was wanted of her.

In a way, she did have a place of belonging, if Purple had been truthful. At her side, on her lap, at her feet. Purple Heart wanted her or even just Lastation and the benefits that followed. Logically, taking her made sense, but other than that, what would the mongrel want from someone like her?

Companionship was clear cut from the start. Black liked to think she knew the intricacies of the idiot holding her, a warlord one moment and a seductress the next. A true pain in the ass.

But at the same time, she knew her.

Their relationship wasn't as pragmatic as White and Green's.

There was something there, warm and constant in what was a mediocre world slowly turning. As much as she hated admitting, the fire in her chest burned brightest with Purple near. The dull lens her eyes had looked Gamindustri over burned with her presence. What a desperate thing she was, to have such a reliance on an enemy…

"We're not, Purple," Black says, momentarily staring up into cerulean before falling to the city they were nearing. "What you believe may take precedence in your mind, but make no mistake, my opinion is what matters in the end and I can end this."

Courage — neigh, foolishness flooded her veins when the opposing deity came.

Nothing else was said after her declaration.

There was no response from the teen when they touched down. Her grip had tightened, her bangs took to shadowing the upper half of her face, tension was bleeding back into the mongrel. It seemed, for once, her words had struck a nerve in the normally playful teen. A minor victory, but finally something different.

Black Heart was dedicated to the lands she reigned over, Not a soul would detract her from what was duty to those who had taken care of her. She did not bow.

Failure was heavy, yes.

Whispering and warning of her eventual to absolute nothingness.

But the feelings of inadequacy and incompleteness had the audacity to live with was worse and threatened to drag her down into places she failed to be bravery for. Bending, breaking, surrendering to the infuriatingly beautiful figure that was Purple was a temptation beyond most that she had faced. It was not, however, enough to overpower the immense lack that burrowing deeper and deeper into her chest.

So when Purple — bold, brave, and a liar as much as she was — walked into Planeptune's Basilicom and dared to claim another kiss from her before the staff, a challenge had been set.

They break apart, the hostess breathing heavily as the prisoner glared in her arms. Arrogance spreads across her lips before she goes for another mark. Teeth sink into the curve of her neck, Black chokes a gasp, nails digging into flesh she can grab. Nerves scream in alarm as Purple pulls back to see her work, blood gingerly drips from the bite.

"Then, it looks as though I will have to train you."

The fallen CPU, because she had lost, lost, lost, lets out a whine at those words. Oh, how she knew, with everyone watching them with their judging eyes. Black lay defeated in Purple's firmly in grasp; she was not getting out. Half-lidded eyes peer up at her captor before closing.

Looking at the mongrel's happiness, perhaps… this was for the best.


	2. Dancing Queen

_**Hello again! Konductor is back with a new little one-shot! I'm not sure how I survived this week of classes and I am tired. Tired enough to post this without triple-checking everything, so if some parts are off, please tell me? Thanks for taking the time to read and I appreciate any comments you have!**_

 ** _Comment responses at the bottom if you wanna look also._**

 ** _This one is, again, a Superdimension AU with a couple of changes as you shall see in the chapter. Containing an amnesiac and thoughtful Nep and an exhausted Noire ready to help with her troubles! Well, mostly._**

 _ **Posted: 10/18/18**_

 ** _Edited: N/A_**

* * *

She probably didn't think the plan through. Actually, no, she never thinks the plan through, that did not happen, like at all. Neptune was more of a doer than a thinker most of the time anyways, why stop and ponder it when you could go for it then and there?

Maybe, that's why everybody got frustrated with her?

Huh. Whatever. As if that would stop her from doing what she thought was perfectly fine.

They'd get over it eventually. Her way of life was fine from her perspective too, so not a lot that needs much improvement on, right?

Anyways, boring things aside, Neptune had been given some unpleasant news from the local book fairy butterfly person that was her oracle. Something big about a ball and meetings and old fuddy-duddies trying to kiss up to her and desserts and then the kicker: dancing.

She did not know how to dance. Or, well, remember how to dance at least. Amnesia was a foe the lavender-haired protagonist had yet to steal a victory against, unfortunately.

Not even saving the day got her memories back to snuff.

Which Neptune really didn't mind, but occasionally it came back to bite her in the butt. The Purple Heart of the past had done a lot of things and with minimal writing behind the reasoning made looking back on past legislation and laws real wonky. Good news was she had Noire. Their resident tsun was a major help as Purple's former partner.

It was why she was going to Lastation's Basilicom in the first place. If Noire, as Black Heart, knew her super well before, then she could help her out with it too! Or something like that at least.

Noire didn't say no to her either. The raven couldn't resist her charms, of course! That was why she always went to Noire first when things happened, she was reliable and always helped her out when she really needed it, a real Goddess send that one was.

Asking Blanc or Vert would've been too awkward in her opinion. Those two were their own pair, the same with Noire and her, and everybody was comfortable with those two pairs. Apparently Purple and Green — and now Black and Green, even — did not get along, which is why the current pairings were what they were.

Vert was nice to her, though. Ignoring the whole poisoning thing her church did without her approval and the whole teaming up with mortals to kill her thing. A bit clingy and huggy, but there was nothing wrong about that.

But she wasn't teacher material. As much as she hosted events and was the life of the party for many, Vert wouldn't go above and beyond for her.

And that was the same with Blanc. Kinda hard to keep up a friendship when so many memories were gone, but Neptune wasn't the quitting type. She kept at it, visiting and reading with the brunette while juggling her duties in Planeptune and they were still friends, despite the incident. Just, not in the way Blanc and Vert were friends is all.

She slams open the door, skipping into the office as a mop of dark hair jerks up. "Good morning to you, Noire!" The girl comes to a halt in front of the desk, wearily eyeing her partner's disheveled state. "Did you spend the night sleeping on your desk?"

As luck may have it, Neptune always had the chance to see Lastation's guardian goddess in her vulnerable and less professional states. One that would never failed to pop up over time was when she was sleep-deprived or exhausted. Nep endorsed neither of them, though.

"Mmh, yeah, just." A yawn, "Finished paperwork for the.. month and," she rubs at her eyes, groaning. "I decided on taking a nap after, only to sleep."

"That isn't really healthy, Noire." Weird, how she was the goddess scolding her other. Then again, Black Heart wasn't the type to think much about herself so long as her nation ran smoothly, huh. "You're a CPU and all…"

Crimson eyes roll at that, "Yes, yes and Vert is a CPU too and she goes on gaming marathons, completely disregarding her nation in a moment of fanatic obsession. Tell me, am I as bad as her? At least I'm focusing on the paperwork and finishing beforehand to focus on more important things at hand."

Oooh, prickly morning tsun, it is then. Neptune points at the door on the wall beside the desk. "You have a bed in the other room and yet, it's the desk you sleep on instead?"

"It's not my fault it's more comfortable then moving."

A dull stare. "If I wasn't the lazy one, you may be in the running for it."

"Perish the thought," she stretches, using a hand to run through and attempt to tame the dark waterfall that was her undone hair. "I'm a very productive person, Neptune. You wouldn't be able to handle my schedule, the same goes for the other two."

"Not everything's a competition, you know?" The smaller of the pair says, grabbing ahold of the blanket that was slipping from her friend's shoulders and quickly folding it. "Proper sleep's important."

"I am sleeping properly. The only problem is that you have a thing against hard surfaces, I don't particularly care as long as I don't get a cramped up neck." Noire gets up with another yawn being covered up, "Also, what was it you wanted?"

Inwardly grumbling over the topic change, which was normal and a wall the heroine was still scaling, she answers, "Dancing."

"Pardon?" The darker deity turns, halfway starting in putting up her hair in a ponytail.

Neptune looks down, gaze shifting away from the goddess who now had her full attentional focused solely on her. Purple Heart had known how to dance then. "I need help with dancing."

Silence sorta swallows the talk after that. Noire hums something in response, fixing up her ponytail to be the lower variant than the one that Green usually had up. And it's just embarrassing because neither one of them were talking and Nep wasn't sure what to say in turn. Dancing was just such a pain to do, practicing was just so stiff on her.

A lot of staff members in Planeptune told her just how good she was at it. Purple Heart commanded the ballroom with the same charisma and presence and untamable force she had on the battlefield. You know, stuff Neptune didn't exactly possess.

She didn't like being compared to herself.

Things were different now.

Different and would continue to be different, no matter what.

Yet, very few actively acknowledged the change that happened. Compa and IF had known only Nep and were fine for the most parts, but the rest weren't so lucky there.

Histoire, after awakening, expected so much from her. It was crazy and some days the church felt more of a prison than it did as a home.

How was the protag supposed to adapt like that? How?

She was left scrambling for parts that weren't there anymore.

Noire, though, Noire didn't mind. She didn't care that parts of her from back then weren't there anymore, she didn't mind that Purple was not the same Purple, she didn't critique everything that had changed. She just waited and watched and responded afterwards.

At first, she thought Black Heart would be the worst. She was her rival, her partner, and her half, if she remembered what Blanc and Vert used to talk about right.

And yet, Black remained and helped her along whenever she came asking. Her unbending pillar in the changing world of Gamindustri. When people came to talk with her about policies and laws and regulations, Black was there and giving her advice or was verbally tearing an unlucky politician or smooth talker apart.

Planeptune wouldn't have remained its stable self were it not for her interventions. She was an advisor that helped while simultaneously leading her own nation to the top, which sounded crazy on paper, but worked really well in practice.

Histy actually disproved of the practice. Letting Black help her and keep the land afloat, saying something about it being a security risk and foolish to trust a competitor. But Black loved to prove her wrong. Actively pressing the buttons to get Histy worked up and smiling with a dash of superiority to have her point officially sink in.

Black — Noire, whichever name fit — just genuinely wanted to help her.

She was growly and competitive and a total tsundere if you managed to get close enough. And yet, Neptune still hasn't gotten why she's helping out of her.

Funny, how someone so open and blunt with you can hide so much. Nep wasn't arrogant to think she knew everything about her. There was a knowledge gap the size of centuries.

But she knew the basics and how to respond to her. 'Cause some days Black didn't do talking and just worked without a sound. It didn't feel weird or wrong, the exact opposite, really. Nep was so much more at home with tugging and silent commands. A sense that it was a norm.

So, not every bit of her past self was gone… just a large and mystifying majority. But before Neptune could dig any further into her thoughts, a hand had already intertwined itself with her own and was pulling her towards the bedroom door.

She looks up, "Uh, Noire? Why are you going to your room?" Or, rather one of her rooms, her friend had a lot of weird sleeping habits and apparently, the church building somehow accommodated the entirety of them.

"You need clothes. Proper formal clothes if we want to get you to dance right. Purple always insisted on dressing right and dragged me into whatever footwork she wanted to practice." Noire says, opening the door without much of an issue. "Figures that it came in handy."

Neptune takes a seat on the bed, pouting a bit that the hand holding was dropped not long after entering. "So, do most things I used to do come back and pop up like this?" Considering how nonchalant she was being, probably yes.

Then again, Noire was fairly calm when surprises or chaos wasn't involved. "Yes. You have a tendency to repeat your actions, despite the personality differences."

Huh. So, not everything was different. "Oh. Is that a bad thing?"

A chuckle. "Not at all, really. You are who you are, I have no problems with it."

Lilac eyes stare up at the deity ruffling through her dresser, it seemed like a normal thing. Felt like a normal thing. "Oh."

"Are you confused with that answer? Most of my responses are from the top of my head, so you won't be getting anything detailed this time around, dear. Besides, the faster you get back into the steps and the tempo, the less depressing you are overall, no?" The raven pulls out a particular dress, one too small for herself, yet she nods and tosses it on the bed and continues.

What sort of thoughts were wandering in her head to come up with ideas like this? She didn't mind them. They were engaging and not completely out of her league as most conversations about the past-her tended to be.

Black knew her. Knew her so well that it scared her.

But it makes sense, doesn't it? To know Neptune when Nep herself couldn't remember? Black wasn't some mindless monster or a reckless member of humanity trying to help, she had experience and had some idea on her reactions. The duo rarely ever got into serious arguments due to the latter being overly accommodating.

If someone were to say there was something underlining the help, she wouldn't lie on saying yes. The truth was the truth. Yet, it was made clear that Black would remain professional and a friend for her to lean on if the need came, she didn't care about her own selfishness; what the snowy-haired CPU cared for was Purple Heart and, by extension, Neptune. There was no misinterpretation with the deal at play.

Noire was a wildfire. Warm and willing to devour whatever she found in her path and make it into sustenance to live another day. She was caustic, brutal and a natural disaster in itself.

Nep didn't know what she was. Something about water, she knew. Everybody loved to talk about how unpredictable and ferocious she was once, but that wasn't the current Neptune way, yeah?

She was a chill person, willing to let what's supposed to happen play out as it should. Well, so long as nothing happened to the violet deity's important people. The calm seas with a frighteningly dangerous depth, capable of turning men into ice cubes in seconds. That's what Noire described her, at least. It was nice, being complimented by her friend in such a way.

Knowing that Noire meant what she said and would believe in it, no matter what anyone thinks about her. Neptune just appreciated it.

A dress of pinks and violets collide with her face. "Gekh!" Unfortunately, the hanger was still attached to said dress, leading to her head colliding with plastic. Obviously, it didn't hurt that bad, but she didn't exactly enjoy it. "N–Noire, why did you just—?"

A hand suddenly grips her head as the patron whispers into her ear. "You're thinking too hard."

"No. I was just thinking!" Thinking about herself, her memories and Noire. "You didn't need to throw it at me, that really was mean! I'm delicate!"

"Delicate?" Noire cocks her head to the side, face blank. "You toss yourself at the dogoos and proceed to make their lives a living hell while swinging around a wooden sword. I've pushed you into rivers after you fall atop me. Is that truly delicacy?"

"Uhhh, it doesn't matter, really? I mean. It could…" she trails off, looking up to see unamused crimson staring back at her. "B–Besides, you aren't being very Noire-ish, either!"

"Noire-ish? I'm just tired. This is my off day.. or is it, you want me to snap at you for being overly depressive and uncharacteristically quiet?"

She huffs, "No, of course not. You're just being intense is all."

"And you are putting that dress on and we are going to be dancing."

Neptune glances down at her lap where the clothing had landed. A dress about her size, the colors reflecting Planeptune without a second thought and it was inside of the goddess' closet? She looks back up, only to see the curtain of dark hair sashay into the bathroom. Ah. She was supposed to get dressed in this, then?

Had… had her friend known and made this for her? Or did this belong to Purple to start?

The lavender-haired immortal hugs the cloth to her chest, breathing in the scent of minor decay and coming up with nothing. It was a soft thing, though. Its fabric not too rough against her skin and coloration matching with her appearance..

Too personalized. Too well-done. Too warm. Too close to her preferences. Hahaha, so, Noire did make it for her, she should have expected that. Silly Noire.

.

.

.

.

.

It was.. a lot easier when your partner was patient and happy to help fix your mistakes. Her dance instructor — which was basically Noire in a suit and looking super boyish — never ended up getting annoyed and start shouting at her for every mistake, so it was pretty nice to just glide across the ballroom floor.

"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight." She whispers to herself, careful not to get too engrossed in counting to remember to move. "Eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one." Counting the beats of movement to the music helped a lot more than just memorizing moves.

For the majority of their dancing, and even their water breaks, her buddy remained quiet. She complimented her and praised her for repeating the right steps and corrected what she got wrong, but that was about it really.

Instead of talking with their voices, they just let their bodies decide.

Which wasn't as sensual as it sounded, no. It was more calming, in her opinion, letting herself drift with the melody caressing her ears. Neptune can't even recall how long the dancing has been going for, a big difference to her lessons in Planeptune.

The constant repetition was for muscle memory. The counting was for her head to keep the beat intertwined with her body. Everything else just had to flow.

There was just a stiffness when being instructed by those people before, they didn't understand the way she moved and focused on giving their patterns to her. Noire kept on spinning and spinning, yet she wasn't dizzy from the info.

If Black knew Purple this well to set their practice up with this much success, well, this was awfully kind of her. But she was nice to her ever since the accident that resulted in her amnesia. Histy called it Black trying to take advantage of her while Blanc and Vert called it making up for failing to help her. Was she actually guilty for what happen?

Neptune can never tell. Not with the soft smile on her face and the joy brimming from her eyes. Noire was happy and never showed signs of guilt.

Just tiredness, exhaustion and utter silence. Those days were few in between the good ones, though, not that she stopped being attentive for any issues. They were in harmony with one another. Moving, breathing, spinning in sync as music plays in the background.

"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight." And she looks good. Pretty even in a dress that was a gift and yet never saw sunlight until now. It's a wonderfully sewed thing. Very pretty on her and it's hard to see herself in the mirror in such a way.

"You're thinking hard again, I hope they're happy thoughts." Noire says, eyes closed and body just reacting with hers.

"They are. Thank you for the dress, Noire, you've… you've been taking care of me a lot." It's actually tough to say aloud. Ha, who would have thought she would be embarrassed? Her, the protagonist of protagonists.

"It's fine." And it's always those answers that get her twitchy.

It's a weird feeling. The way her nerves just tingle and she can't focus while her body just automatically moves around. She's still moving, still in tandem with Noire as her mind fizzles on answers, on questions. How is she supposed to talk about this?

How to say this? "You're… you're always here. Always. And it's always for my sake. I'm, I'm not saying I'm ungrateful or anything, you've saved my life a bunch of times.. I–I'm just.. confused. Why you care. Why you do so much to help me when it's not necessary, when I'm not the woman you stood beside for centuries." It's almost as though Neptune replaced her past self.

Nobody has gotten an answer out of her. Nobody has dared question the Lady of the Regality. But it doesn't help her. The silence, the unwillingness to ask has only left Nep wondering what the truth behind it all; how uncharacteristically unlike herself, right? Her minor quest for answers leading her here.

Was it ungrateful of her? To want to know when Noire was not herself and tired and vulnerable? Making her happy and then demanding answers..

She didn't like it. She didn't enjoy using this for herself when they can be dancing the day away. But she wants to know, wants to hear it from her mouth and not Histoire's. Neptune had to know and the immortal only hoped Noire wasn't disappointed with her actions.

"I'm selfish."

..What? What did that mean?

Neptune can only gape as she is twirled, the warm shades of the room twisting in her vision with the darkness that was Noire in her entirety. She had nothing to fear. Noire wouldn't let her go, she wouldn't fall to the floor from a faulty spin.

And Noire continues to talk, the tempo gradually quickening with each word. Neptune doesn't know how she keeps up with this. "So very selfish, you see. Practically heartless of me."

"It'd be foolish to say I care about most things. The world could burn around me and my gaze would remain on one thing: my things. Why should I give a damn about the world that dared to strike down my half, my partner, my rival, my confident, my mongrel?! It's those mortals' faults for being erased, they deserved every last minute of their deaths. Not to mention the other two's involvement..."

Hate bleeds from her expression, a visage of cruelty and arrogance mimicking Black's worst days emerging. Still, she remains gentle, she doesn't tug, she doesn't hurt her. "You're my everything. Same as White being Green's everything. And they tried to take you away from, they tried to make you fall and I… and I failed to help you." She spits out.

It's sharp, it's cutting, but her anger is like glass. Beautiful and fragile. "I was supposed to be targeted. I'm the most dangerous. I'm the one who killed those maggots for ever laying a hand on you. I'm the biggest threat against the other continents. I wasn't supposed to be the who had to pick you up again."

Nobody mentioned it. Nobody said a word about Black's feelings. Blanc and Vert would give Neptune hints and looks to get her started, but never spoke. It was a sacred thing. The silence that surrounded this bond of theirs. It was a private thing — the way they danced together in harmony, the way they protected each other, the way she had eyes only for her.

"But, I'm selfish." The speed drops as the music nears the end of line. Neither goddess making a single misstep with their frantic energy. "I'm selfish and I stayed when I deserve not to. I stayed and am keeping you all to myself."

Was her friend selfish? "Mmh, I don't think so. You've been pretty selfless if your complaints about me are true." Snarky Noire was a fun Noire to annoy. "You care deeply is all. Real deep if you weren't exaggerating about what you said."

"I'm not one to make hyperboles, dear. I make promises." The sense of tiredness returning on her features instead of that anger.

"So, it was a confession?"

Flush starts to invade her partner's face as they reach the final part. "You really are pushing it now, Neptune. Drop it before I drop you." Still, the two of them spun in tandem, the number of each step ringing in the back of her mind. "I be nice and this is how you reward me?"

Yes, achieving a blushing tsun is key to victory in life. "Wellll, you were rather furious and scary… You aren't going to actually drop me, are you?"

"No, that would be counterproductive to teaching you how to dance. I help you and then I'll have you punished for this. Maybe, I'll just drop you off a cliff later, you can survive that much, can't you?" That was probably not a joke.

"I'm going to wake up at the bottom of a cliff, aren't I?" That'd hurt.

Chuckling, now without the darker context involved, Noire grins. "Of course not. I want you experience falling without a living landing pad to save your pretty little head."

Wait, wait, wait. "You think my head's pretty? Awwh, I didn't know you thought of me that way—!" Neptune squeaks, finding herself spinning out of nowhere. The music was hitting its climax as she found gravity pulling her down in a dip.

Crimson stares down her, impervious. "See? I didn't drop you. Have more faith in me, dear."

"N–Noire.. can you pull me back up? This position…"

A dark eyebrow is raised as the goddess fails to pull her up. "What is it?"

"You're doing this on purpose!"

"Why else would do I this? Teasing me after such an emotional moment too.."

"I was trying to lighten your abysmal mood!" The CPU insists, carefully not to move with Noire holding the majority of her weight. "And how are you holding me up for so long?!"

Her partner looks away, before sighing and pulling Neptune back up. The latter has no time to relax, however, because as soon as both feet are back on solid ground, the darker CPU is quick to yank her into an embrace, an action that has yet to have been prompted by the taller half of the pair. Surprises, physical contact and Black Heart normally did not mix.

It was like mixing oil and water. Nothing good happened, except for the cute animals getting covered in the oil and a mess eventually needing to be cleaned up. And she didn't even want to think about the effects of that on monsters...

Before her thoughts stray any further, the arms around her tighten, pulling Nep back.

"You probably don't remember this, but I told you after you were found that I wasn't going to be letting you fall again. I keep my promises." Noire whispers into the lavender-haired divinity's ear, not even acknowledging the blush spreading on the latter's face.

"Y–You're such a softy." Neptune mumbles, not entirely sure how to react to the hug. Lastation's ruler wasn't exactly partial to physical affection.

But it said a lot that Noire would do this. A lot of courage had to be gathered up and whatever hesitation the deity had to be dealt with beforehand… Just the thought of her being a touchy-feely sort of person was weird. Care and affection was expressed in banter or the occasional peptalk, not hugging or head-pats.

Her feelings were genuine, though. Neptune knew that in her heart, memories or not. "Thank you for this, seriously. I really appreciate you helping me with this, Noire.." No reply, but she was listening. "Where'd you learn to dance?"

Because Noire was a good teacher and, she assumed, a good teacher came from an even better teacher? Right? Anyways, the raven couldn't have been good at everything in the beginning. Hearing a story from her would be nice, especially when Noire enjoyed herself today.

It took a bit to get a response. "I'll tell you on a later date."

Which wasn't a no.

"Oh, okay." So it was a story type of explanation, then? Huh. Sounds like fun. "Do you wanna do anything? Or is napping after a shower sound good?"

Noire nuzzles the side of her neck, getting a shiver out of the shorter half. "That sounds fine."

.

..

….

…

….

..

.

" _Black~! What a surprise to have you coming to see me in Planeptune." A twin-tailed form leaps at her unsuspecting rival, causing the duo to land onto the plush floor of the violet deity's bedchambers. "You never visit me."_

 _The snowy-haired woman struggles to push the clingy Purple Heart off of her. Eventually, she gives up, letting the mongrel have her way. "For good reason."_

" _Ignoring your most favorite immortal in Gamindustri is a crime!" Purple shouts, pinning the shorter goddess — which was only by a hand full of inches, regardless of what was spouted — to the floor. "You've been working too much in the office and haven't been playing enough with me!"_

 _It was always a struggle. Always a time fighting off whatever the hell the strongest among the four demanded of her. Black was never not under Purple's administrations. A never ending cycle of being messed with._

" _I need to deal with the opposing continents. I can't play around everyday, not with those maggots squirming around." Black hisses, teal eyes flashing red for a moment._

 _The one atop her pats the fuming snowball on her head. "Now, now, getting angry here won't help you any more than having a hissy fit. As fun as a violent counterpart is, I'm still very curious on what happened to make you come here. You visit on business and pleasure, and unfortunately, you rarely ever come here for pleasure."_

 _Black twitches. "You are pushing it today, mongrel. I'm not that bad—"_

"— _You wanted to burn them asunder. And as fun as that sounds, I'd hate for you to get hurt because of the choices you make."_

" _They're planning something. How am I supposed to calm down— and watch where your hands are going, woman." Yelps the silvery-haired CPU after Purple makes a grab at her chest. "Why is it that you always try and grope me?"_

" _I was getting lonely." Cerulean seas stare down at the goddess. "Don't ignore me again."_

 _She, inevitably, crumbles at the look. "Fine. I won't. So long as you help me with something and you don't mention it to the other two. This is a private affair."_

 _The lilac-haired ruler happily agrees, letting her grumpy little half sit up before settling Black into her lap. She nuzzles her, smiling all the more. "Of course, of course. White and Green would only interfere with our bonding session, spending it with you alone would be nice."_

" _You're too happy to help me, you know?"_

 _Black didn't know why exactly her rival was attached to her and wanted to help her as much as she did. In her eyes, she was stealing her time and energy for her own projects. The kindness was almost unreal with how Purple enjoyed being around her and fighting beside her. She cared for the mongrel, she did, but why did the idiot do the same for her?_

 _Purple Heart never failed to make no sense to her. She was a drain to her resources, yet Purple kept on helping. What a frustrating woman to get paired up with. Being with her was never horrible, though.. Just exhausting on the mind._

 _Purple continues with her touchiness. "I'm happy because you can't be happy with yourself. You think too much, little Black."_

 _And Black can't exactly deny that first part. "While you're wrong about the little part — I am not that short compared to you — I won't deny the rest of it… I need help with dancing."_

" _Now.. was that so hard for you?" She asks, laughing as her counterpart flushed. The latter didn't bother resisting what was slowly becoming a cuddling session, but her face probably said it all. As usual. "I'll help you. But first, do you mind if we stay like this a bit longer?" A simple question, really. It wasn't that big of a bother, so…_

" _Mmh, I don't mind." It was calming to listen to the beat of her heart, even if she didn't enjoy being touched by others very much. Black could stand Purple, though. Purple was always an outlier for things. She supposed that's what made her so special. "Thank you, dear."_

 _Was it really alarming that she could never win against her? That would be as though the moon were challenging the sun for its place in the sky; it would never be done, it would never succeed, it would always fail as the moon could never muster the same brilliance the fiery orb did. There was never a chance at victory, not against someone so radiant and warm._

 _A hand runs itself through her windswept hair, the sensation sending her trembles from mere sensitivity. "It has always been a pleasure of mine to help you, my adorable little Black."_

* * *

 _ **Guest 1: Thank you, shall do my best to continue!**_

 _ **Guest 2: Ehh, she wants a proper partner than a pet, Black's just stubborn and prideful. Though, the biting was more of a show to those watching them? Purple has a rep to maintain, but I'll try and shed some light there if I'm in the mood to continue Maelstrom.**_

 ** _xyzdreadnought: Yup, an AU, sorry about not saying so. Updated the last chapter to make it clear. Some of the stories will have similarities to the last one too, but not all them, I promise. Hope this one is to your liking, though? I've also been writing for a while too, been trying to work up the courage to post and, well, here I am. Thanks for reading!_**


	3. Empress I

_**Konductor here, back with another one-shot! Fair warning, this update schedule is not permanent, I'm just eager and cutting into class time, so weekly updates won't be forever, unfortunately. My plot bunny muse is a fickle creature.**_

 _ **Again, comments are at the bottom.**_

 _ **This is an AU I've tinkered with a bit. Has a Console War while going down the Hyperdimension (as in Sister's Gen, Victory, VII) continuity with changes that you shall soon see. For example, the four were raised in their Basilicoms mostly separately and are currently in their teen years. A bit more serious tone.**_

 _ **But, I promise I'm working on a cute little shot with regular Nep & Nowa. Thanks for reading and feedback/comments are appreciated!**_

 _ **Posted: 10/24/18**_

 _ **Edited: N/A**_

* * *

Waking up from a good nap was never a fun experience. Awareness took to yanking at her nerves, the prickling lack of warmth screaming at her. Goosebumps were making waves on her bare thighs as she used her makeshift bed to stand.

Trees, contrary to popular belief, made for a wonderful daybed. There were worse things to sleep on and, personally speaking, soaking up the natural energy around on a near unpopulated landmass was heavenly. Not that she would be admitting that aloud anytime soon. The haven was hers first.

Groaning at the tell tale pop of her spine, the once sleeping teen bends back. A part of herself eager to feel the loosening tension of her muscles and bones. What a nice nap to get her a good wake up and everything. She should really sleep more often, ah, but duty calls. That lethargic hum fades and what fills the void that it leaves is her senses.

Because, _oh joyous day_ , someone's fighting again.

Now, she was no pacifist. That'd never work out, first of all. One drop of that familiar yet foreign power was a good enough high for her. Second, stimulation — certainly not the creepy kind that drove beings insane — was hard to come by. So, that power high was a rarity, an exotic fragment of life the darker deity hungered for.

Third of all, when has the designated protector ever been allowed a peaceful life when death wasn't dancing around like it owned the whole Goddess damn place?

Within a few minutes of awakening, Black had thrown herself into more stretches. Extending fingers out to touch her toes, the teen throws herself into monotonous, fast-paced repetition. It's a better method of waking up than to splash water in her face. Up, down, up, down, up. And yet, the compulsion to close her eyes is still there.

"This," a yawn, "is such a pain." What else is there to say? She didn't feel one hundred percent awake, maybe more of a seventy. Her head wasn't pounding, though, and that honestly meant the world.

All-nighters weren't new to her, but adding the input of her fellow goddesses, it was less than substantial recently. Because these people were just annoying and that was just being polite. She really didn't want to be playing nice when they were trying to kill each other. The four of them had enough issues with their nations and yet they were going to battle for days on end, which was _great_.

And the only one who relatively liked her was Purple and whatever relationship they had was a stretch.

Purple Heart was.. different. Dangerous, if she were truthful. The air around the twin-tailed patron charged with this coiled tension and it was enough to make her leery. Not that Black was going to hold that fact against her, she could respect her rival for the strength she possessed.

It would be wrong not to acknowledge that much. Even she could see that Purple was best suited for the role as 'True Goddess' or whatever the hell they were actually fighting for. Sure, there was a lack of care for the title on that end, but it didn't mean what was fact was wrong. And she would be making damn certain the only one who would claim the Stupid moniker would be her rival.

Neither White nor Green were close to being ready.

Letting one last low-pitched whine as her mind and body clicks back into place, the immortal sets aside the sounds of conflict going on not far from her location. Instead, she zeroes in on the phone in her inventory. What a surprise, messages from Chhaya.

The umber-skinned woman was a thinly-veiled _miracle_. Obviously an experienced lady, she was worth over half of her own nation's wealth. Priceless, priceless advice and aid was doled out by her and this was one of those moments. How lucky Black was to have someone like her before she drowned herself in work.

And it was very tempting to do so. To just get absorbed in it and never see anyone for days on end. How easy it would be to let go and never look back from that path.

The ruler of Lastation wasn't that type of person, though.

Couldn't be like that, Black internally huffs, typing back a reasonable response to her advisor. Yes, she would be returning soon. Yes, she would be trying to stop whatever squabble occurred this time. Yes, nobody was going to get badly injured.

It's almost as if Chhaya didn't trust her. Which, in hindsight, made a lot of sense with how baselessly Stupid she's been lately.

Not that she wanted to worry her, the research simply turned out less safe than perceived to be. Anyways, Black could handle herself, the experiments helped with the slump she was starting to feel. It was perfectly fine.

Yeah, that was escapism. Yeah, it was pretty pathetic. Yeah, something like that was unsuitable for a CPU. Yeah, it'd be better to throw herself into something healthier.. Maybe books than the fantasy of being successful. But her reality was filled to the brim with _lies_ in the end, what was one more added to the bucket?

She was being productive and that's all that mattered. The world was watching the four goddesses now and every bit counted, or something. Black didn't care. There were no cameras in Celestia.

"Done. Are you happy now?" The disgruntled deity dejectedly grunts, shoving her device back into place before silently stomping through the foliage. "Nngh, aren't even my mother and you lecture me about properly leaving. I can take care of myself," albeit, badly, but still.

If her second in command was as frighteningly effective as she believed, the woman probably heard her words. Or inferred she would say so, given their relationship. They were a good team, the Stupid teen ruler and the level-headed adult. Lastation was afloat because of the latter, not the former. She clenches her fists, nails digging crescent-shaped imprints in her palms. Probably not the best place to think about that sort of thing, huh. Ah, who cared? Not her.

Quickening her pace, Black edges the remaining flanks of the forest. A part of her wants to burn the place, wishful thinking and another angry thought that's thrown away. There are better things to do, more important things to do. Always is, always will be. That's how the world works.

How it **burns**.

She nibbles at her bottom lip. Not enough for it to bleed, enough to feel it. Her hands were itching for something to grip. Cold hard metal to cut and render the world broken. Cut it red, but Black doesn't want to think of that color. Can't hesitate now, after all.

Metal against metal. Grinding then separating only for them to meet once more in a constant cycle of untapped energy potential. Brimming with the clash of two titans, emotion peaking. Pressure, tension, anticipation rising with each beat and pump of the heart. Breathes gasping, silent and forced, ragged and calm. The difference between good and _perfection_.

Imagery is being painted in her mind as she strides forward. Towards the noise, the chaos stitched with every action chosen in the name of blood.

No geniuses needed to figure out who is who. Only one set winner in that dance; humming, singing, chanting with discourse. The immortal can practically taste it, distance being no obstacle as the white-haired teen forges forward. There was no competition, a pointless game.

These are the people the world demands she fight against. It's only right for her to deny them of the honor of falling. None of Black wants to see her reflection in another crimson puddle pooling on the floor. Not again. She doesn't want to go through that sight again. She didn't want to do anything of this, so she would refrain for as long as possible.

Such a monotonous task that was.

Nevertheless, it was acceptable and fun at times. A pinch precarious because of Purple's relentless chasing during their bouts, but everybody needed some variety.

How oh so very lucky that Purple Heart provided that in spades. Release — no matter how miniscule, no matter how hazardous — could always be fulfilled with her at least. She didn't get why the violet-haired ruler continuously chose her to fight, but she wasn't complaining. Killing the growing void was a nice way to waste time. It wouldn't change anything, but still nice. Purple was a blessing.

What a crying shame it would be if she were to break in this world of theirs.

An improbable concept. But that didn't mean such a thing was impossible, simply unlikely.

Besides, the idea was laughable at best.

The twin-tailed deity was better than that, she had to be if she kept up with Black. It didn't change how _tragic_ such a thing would be, the brightest star falling and shattering from the impact. Now that, Black could prevent that from happening.

It wouldn't do for the king, or was it queen, chess piece to be taken so early on. As the strongest goddess, falling would mean the title would fall to her. She didn't want that, Black didn't even want to be there. And so, Purple remained on top.

A simple solution that would stay if only White and Green were not obsessed with becoming 'True Goddess'.

The teen didn't care about their opinions. They weren't ready and probably never would be, teaming up against a single person was less than honorable and a blaring sign of the status of things. If she were them, the opponent would be six-feet under already. Ahh, but it was Purple and doing that to her wouldn't do.

Black remains on the outskirts of the shaded trees, leaning against the bark. Content to sink in her natural habitat and eye the spectacle unfolding in such a chaotic manner.

She doesn't make a peep, summoning a kusarigama in her hand. Its long chain is silent, not a rattle escapes the metal she personally fingers expertly positioning the snake-like coil for attack.

Wait for it, wait for it. What will come will come and all will be as it should.

To see Purple fight off both of the idiots was an amazing image to brand into her mind. It was breathtaking to observe two teens being utterly torn to shreds. Metaphorically speaking, though. Quite the view she had, very much worth waking up for. Who's said they've been invigorated from seeing their rival crush the so-called competition? _She_ has.

And it really was a yummy thing to see. The effort the violet-haired immortal exterts was oh so very tempting. She wanted to fight against it, to struggle and toil for something of worth. Today was not that day, however, and such a delicious vision from her rival would have to be cut short.

Horrible, really, but such was the way of the world.

It would be **burning** eventually, now wasn't that time either, though. She'd live. Her heart was aching for another choice, her insides were twisting and turning for a chance, her mind remained impenetrable. But she would live. As much as Black wanted to see usurpers get grinded into the ground, there was a better prize.

Purple Heart, of course. And, in a way, she was Purple's prize.

Clashing with the mongrel wouldn't be far off after all.

Sparks would fly from their blades engaged in a conversation only they were blessed with.

Their eyes once again meeting in a battle between wills and ideals. Bodies groaning, perspiring, _screaming_ at its like minded opponent and struggling similar to everything else that existed in the world.

That was **living**. She was sure the teen would appreciate a real experience. It was Purple, she should expect no less.

Black was never going to throw her life away based on a flimsy reason like a title. What would the patron have to gain from becoming 'True Goddess'? Money? Power? Fame? There was nothing she wanted nor would any of that ever happen from a title.

What the divinity desired was simpler and much more absurd for anyone to ever think Black would ever achieve it. Not that a piece of it would get out, the teen knew just how impossible a goal like that was. She was Stupid, not a fool.

So when Purple finally chose to divide the pair attacking her, she chose the hardest target.

Literally.

Greenie was no obstacle, she was a fast one, never a defensive-based fighter, however. She couldn't tank the way White did. Common sense only enforced what happened next. And while Black did chuckle at the unadulterated horror on the youngest's face at her partner being thrown aside, she had to applaud Purple's thinking.

Eliminate — temporary or not, the beautiful damage was done to such a prideful idiot — Shortie and Green became the insect falling into a venus flytrap without a second thought.

Funny, how misfortune works for and against her, she thinks as White comes barreling inside the ring of trees. The blue-haired CPU disheveled and gasping for air after careening into solid wood was understandable, though. Taking a hilt to the solar plexus wasn't at all fun.

Black would know.

The mongrel was _her_ rival amongst the four of them and, boy, did she love taking advantage of that pain-filled moment of weakness or what. White was, for lack of better word, launched out of the fight to boot.

It was sort of painful to watch the small eldest try and stand. Ahh, but, Black wasn't one to let an opportunity Purple gave her go to waste. That'd be bad practice against a teen who really demanded the full package. She had such a high maintenance other half, didn't she? Too bad, Black wasn't the type to complain about that one. It'd be a wasted effort.

The _**crack**_ as a body connects with an object never fails to unsettle her.

It's a jarring sound. The CPU hates it from the first instance she heard the noise. This time, however, the petite body shakily stands.

Coughing, White doesn't notice her.

Lowee's little ruler doesn't see the blade being hung above her blue tuft of hair. But the would-be assassin withdraws, her clenched hand drawing blood as a memory comes to mind. No, no, instead the kusarigama in her other palm is used. Its chain snaking around its target without a moment of respite, the silence is broken as she lets out a yelp of surprise.

The waif-like teen struggles immediately, red eyes widening as they try to find their assailant and panic flooding her system beside the adrenaline.

A futile action that's only wasting precious time and energy in Black's opinion.

She yanks. The all too familiar weapon responds to the command like an old friend.

White is in her arms. The initial sounds of shock swallowed by the ongoing match between Purple and Green. The scythe-like blade hovering only inches from pale flesh as the girl's movement jolts to a stop. Smart move, the deity concedes.

"Good morning. Hope I didn't frighten you." Black chirps, faux cheer filling her voice. It's a lie, everything are lies and her captive knows it. How could Shortie not?

It takes a moment for the blue-haired teen to snap out of her stupor. "The fuck, Black," her whispers harsh and shaken. "You don't just Goddess damn do this to a person. I thought you—!"

Predictable. "—I was what? Going to eliminate you for certain? Please, give me some credit for my efforts. I just woke up and wanted to see what was the commotion was about. Haven't the desire or need to kill you."

And, perhaps in this one's perspective, the yet was unspoken. Not that she cared of these idiots' say in her life.

The short-haired eldest of the four snarls at her. Or she tries to without disturbing the blade at her carotid artery. "The hell I'm gonna believe you! This is war. You spew literal bullshit whenever you open your mouth. First you say you don't care about this war and then you lie about being on that fucking blue-eyed bitch's side!" White's such a , what really catches her ears is the last part.

She personally didn't mind the rest of it.

There seems to be a misconception about her. Which really wouldn't do if this so-called war would be continuing.

Poor communication did have a nasty tendency to kill whoever fell into that pitfall. Not that she had a right to complain about it. The immortal screwed up a lot in the social department as is. The case in point being now for instance.

This was such a _pain_. "You really need to stop assuming this about your fellow CPUs, Shortie. It would be a darn shame if an accident happened."

Why did she have to deal with this again?

Was it because Black did something horrible and unspeakable in her past life?

She wasn't the greatest of persons, but sheesh, did luck hate her or what?

And no, the immortal did not want an answer to that question. Balancing the tells of a nation was one thing. Figuring out her emotions and place in a group she really wasn't sure she wanted to be a part of was another. There was no way something like this would be anything but helpful.

She legitimately wanted to **burn** someone for having to be in this situation. If the goddess were back in her church and in the confines of her lab, she wouldn't have to deal with this. Instead, Black had to interact with these people. Why couldn't she be alone?

"We saw you taking a snooze beside freaking Purple Heart. What the hell are we supposed to think, huh, Fluffy?! You're the one who got cozy with her. How about you explain yourself for a change! Pulling that shit about not caring about being a CPU and then adding your lot to her really doesn't tell us a damn good thing about you!"

If this wasn't filled with utter Stupidity, she would have laughed at the outcome they thought of.

This was why the deity wasn't close with the other two. Fucking moments like these made it very hard for her to ignore the incessant compulsion to just cut the brat in her arms and get rid of her once and for all.

But, no.

Plastering a cyanide smile across her face, — a sight that may have reflected on the blade for the small one to see and shut up — she lost all sense of niceties.

"As much as I love," emphasis on love, via contact with metal-to-flesh, "Purple. I work better off alone." Black says, well aware of the lies she breathed.

Her seriousness, for once, silencing White again.

The fear was practically palpable. And it was very, very hard not to take advantage of that crack in the exterior. Tolerance was key, patience was key, anything but the imagery she so desperately wanted to make into reality.

Huh. Maybe Chhaya was a bit right about her having some issues and needing some proper restraint.

Ah, well, not as though knowing that would do any good now. There were things to do and people to crush beneath her heel, the regular stuff. For example, the little tart in her arms that had failed to even respond to her words. This one would have to be dealt with. Fair was fair and Shortie did have some use. Albeit, unorthodox use, but still.

Black Heart wasn't allowed to kill anyone for some time now anyways. Apparently the act in itself caused panic attacks, not that she remembered them. The patron would have to contend with merely playing until she broke through whatever block was before her.

She was **fine** , really. Nothing was seriously wrong with her. This was another obstacle to bypass. There wouldn't be any death in this so-called Console War and Purple was here to act as stress relief.

Err, ignoring the last part. The mongrel wasn't that important to her. Not in the slightest. That twin-tailed annoyance had no place in her world, why would she ever wanna be with her anyways? Purple was better than that. A lot of people were better than that and just because she slept better near her didn't mean anything!

Geh, she was changing the subject now.

"Don't make an ass of yourself, White. I owe you two no explanation, because if I can recall, Purple enjoys beating her partner black and blue as much as she does with you." Though, none of as focused or kind. "Besides, when do you a have a monopoly where I sleep? Really? What kind of stalker are you?"

That, of all things, hit a nerve. "Don't call me a fucking stalker!" Now, if only a kama's blade wasn't touching White's neck. Then a real fight would've broken out.

The ruler didn't know what was with her fellow goddesses.

Making friends seemed to be a lost cause more than ever with them seemed to be more making enemies, really. Maybe she really did suck at talking with the others and making nice, but what else did she know? Her skill set for one thing, but, as mentioned before, it was useless. She wanted to laugh, she wanted to cry, she didn't even know why she was here to begin with.

They didn't get along and they sure as hell didn't respect each other, with the exception of herself towards Purple.

Why keep making them meet up for a Stupid moniker?

If Black were to stop coming to Celestia, would the other three _care_ to look for her? Of course not, what was she thinking? Stupid, that was so Stupid. Those idiots had their own lives to deal with and the mongrel would eventually lose interest. Ahh, what thoughts were filling her mind?

"You didn't deny it. Now get moving, Shortie, I wouldn't want to mar that tiny neck of yours." Harden your soul, Black thinks to herself as they slowly walk through the brush. Her free, bleeding hand acting as the only distraction to her thoughts.

She was better off back in Lastation.

Her second in command was there and willing to help and be nice. Here, at best, were enemies and that one mongrel who kept her attention on Black after that less than enjoyable first meeting. Not a single thing here was concrete, Chhaya was at least sworn to her. Thinking of this in terms of the Console War, the three were her foes, weren't they?

Why did she care? How could she have attachment and hate at the same time? It would be so much easier to cut ties and walk away.

Why is the second time different than the first? They, opposing leaders of nations, weren't bothering to touch peace. Why didn't she just end it? How was it so hard to **burn** what she had now?

She huffs at her indecisiveness, her inability to understand why. And with that damn veil of mystery, it's easy to throw herself into stopping Purple and the tall idiot. An explosion has never not been the best solution in garner attention.

The utter look of horror from White filled the immortal with enough glee to permanently kill the less than polite punishment that had been forming in her mind. It was adorable to see the seeds of fear start to blossom.

Plus, Greenie's pallor resembling a slip of paper was icing to that dessert. She definitely needed better hobbies if this is what got her a high on a lackluster day like this.

Purple gives her a hard, indecipherable look as she floats down on those butterfly-like wings of hers, ōdachi in hand. Nice to see her antics were taken into account and not immediately met with opposition. Very comforting, actually, but it's not as though Black will ever admit that to these three. It was always a step in the right direction to be taken seriously by them.

The walk towards the pair is leisurely. Well, compared to the hesitant and cautious steps of White, that is. She's a dirty liar at heart and the others knew that, the air of confidence as false as each breath she dare breathed in her lungs.

Was it an odd image?

Herself walking behind White, who was tangled in chains and with a kusarigama to her throat, with her damned bloodied hand.

As usual, the picture of innocence failed to reach her. What presence did the deity steal this time? A monster? A criminal exchanging a catch for freedom? A fool walking towards execution? The possibilities were endless. She was pretty sure her hands weren't trembling this time around, though, it'd be a terrible contradiction to the illusion.

Between the four of them, Black wanted to know their opinion of her. A dumb thing to desire, yet it continues to burrow in her chest. It wasn't as important as other things but it still existed. She's not going to ask upfront, of course. That'd only invite more lies to the table and, honestly, she brought enough as is.

Goddess, why does her train of thought keep coming back to herself and her faults? Is she that doubtful of her own abilities? Is that it, world? ..Ahh, it didn't matter now. She would be retreating to her nation soon enough. A much better place to contemplate than amongst tentative enemies.

So instead of trying to think, she just did. Throwing herself into a discussion that would go nowhere. "I'm sorry for interrupting that riveting conversation you two were having, but seeing repetition after repetition was starting to be dull."

Unfortunately, her person of interest remained silent, leaving Green to fill in. "I would appreciate the apology more if you were to release my rival." She grits out, hands still clutching her spear.

"While I do understand the need to keep one's possessions safe," the ponytailed teen shudders at her word choice, "Shortie was the one to engage with me and it would be a wasted opportunity not to use that to my advantage." An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. It was the only fairness she knew well enough to commend.

Because the truth was: retaliation was just as plentiful as their lies. Honor and fairness were weapons in themselves.

"As much as I love the chitter-chatter," Purple starts, earning everyone's gaze, "You did interrupt this fight of mine. Explain, before I use your occupied arms for higher ground." The strongest punctuates her declaration, hand tensing on the hilt of the sword.

The first instinct is to fold.

Cold cerulean was challenging Black for standing up to her.

They were practically goading the fourth to start something as if she owned her. The temptation was near unbearable, to apologize and to back out, to **break** under her gaze.

Purple stood at the pinnacle compared to the three of them. She was, by far, the biggest threat with her wants and desires shrouded in mystery and her capabilities quite easily surpassing the rest of them.

It would be foolhardy to not follow her unspoken command. But then again, she was never the smartest of people, now was she? Impulses were ignored, hopes dashed, will forged forward. The CPU did nothing to warrant any closeness from Purple and she would maintain her distance for as long as possible.

Teal meets cerulean. A smile — something oh so very **real** for once in a painfully long time — makes its way to her face. "I have been informed of an.. _insurgency_ in my main cities. Before today, it's been contained, however… a little spirit has enlightened me of otherwise."

The mongrel quirks an eyebrow and the other frowns, mulling over the information. Looking at her captive is pointless, the berserker is just as engaged as before. No spikes of smugness or annoyance.

"And judging by your reactions, you aren't the ones to cause this little insurrection." Which was both a relief and no surprise, none of the others had garnered a vicious mindset just yet and Black would return the favor. "I'm grateful, that much I'll admit. So, I'll tell you a little more of what I was told. You three really should head back to your nations, trash has this real troublesome tendency to pile up when you aren't checking."

It was only the truth, if you left an enemy alive to multiply, the bastards would eventually come back to strike thrice as hard.

"How did anyone contact you from below?" The youngest cuts in, eyeing her with hints of trepidation. Black was still holding White hostage, wasn't she? "It's near impossible to get any cellular connection when we're over a hundred meters in the air."

"It's called innovating, heron," the deity retorts, ignoring how the speedster bristled at the nickname. She deserved it for acting like a bloody bird half the time. Flighty, defensive and not to mention annoying to boot. "Plus, I have no obligation to explain anything for you." She released the hold of the small one, letting the chain unravel before coiling around her arm.

Purple grins, tilting her head to the side as she strides forward. White, seeing her approach, stumbles to the side to avoid the collision. The violet-haired teen stops barely a few inches away from her rival. "You do, however, owe me."

An eye twitches. "Pardon?"

The grip on the kama tightens when warm, _soft_ hands brush against her neck to push cloud-colored strands out of the way. Heart stuttering with each beat as hot air comes into contact with her skin. She swears she can see Green with her mouth agape while helping White stand. Those two don't matter, though, not when this utter goddess is face-to-face with her and gingerly touching her.

Both mind and body skids to stop when Purple takes notice of the flush invading her.

The mongrel laughs, bells were ringing like the calm crashing waves on the shore. "You interrupted my fun, little puppy," the darker immortal trembles at the moniker. "This merits some compensation. You understand, don't you?" And Black fucking nods, as if in a daze. "Good girl."

With her part said and done, Purple flies off. Leaving a thoroughly shell shocked White and Green and one blushing rival in the aftermath.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

A hammer boomed on the metal. Heat was roaring in tandem of the strikes, the heavy _**bang**_ _-_ _ **bang**_ _-_ _ **bang**_ singing with a crackling blaze of the fire and the breaths of the goddess at work. It's automatic work, there is no rhyme or reason needed for her to do this. Mindless physical strength with a minor hint of strategy to move everything along.

Perfection was a **lie** in the end. She would never be able to craft something of that strength, it just wasn't possible for her. Not without some sacrifice that Black would never be willing to commit to, her new blade would be a normal goddess-made weapon.

Which doesn't sound very normal in itself, but considering her armory of self-made tools, it was a general practice to her.

Having a regular hobby was sort of tough, she didn't care for much.

Her mind remained on work and work only, forging added onto her workload.

The process was _calming_ , though.

It, much like gambling, took her away from the world as a whole. The **burn** of the metal and the fire felt good against her weak flesh. A metaphorical splash to the face when all she wanted was to be dissolved.

But getting away from that, when doing metalwork, emptiness was key. Pouring her heart and soul into the weapon was actually tedious. A divinity like herself could pour her emotion into the blade, giving it varying effects and since the majority of her feelings were less than positive, that would probably cause some problems in the future.

For example, if she were to fill a tool to the brim with hunger, then the properties would align more with destroying — or rather devouring, if that even fit — en mass. Angry may cause the user to go into a primal rage, despair could force them to do things meant for those at the end of their rope, hope would probably involving absolute survival or something.

At least, that was what she thought. Her experiments pointed to that particular result, you see.

Emotions could be such a pain, though, especially after the stunt Purple had pulled recently. She had been blushing up a storm, even after she had retreated from the so-called meeting. Almost as if the violet deity enjoyed making her slip in control, the nerve of her… Black hated it, the reality that she was too weak and vulnerable against a fellow goddess.

Unacceptable, a part of her wanted to scream, there was a such an obvious crack in her armor.

A chink that kept on successfully being used.

An unsurprising truth she had to swallow. Because, **of course** , the twin-tailed teen was stronger than her. Of course, Black keeps on failing to gain a real upper hand against her. Of course, this of all damnable things was affecting her unlike anything else. Of course, of course.

 _ **Bang**_ _-_ _ **bang**_ _-_ _ **bang**_ _-_ _ **bang**_ _-_ _ **bang**_ _-_ _ **bang**_ _-_ _ **bang**_ _-_ _ **bang**_ _-_ _ **bang**_ _-_ _ **bang**_. Drown out her thoughts, drown out her feelings, drown out every single thing in this Goddess forsaken world gave to spite her.

She was being foolish, yes, Black knew.

Having a temper-tantrum in a semi-public place and just taking her frustrations on something that wasn't even responsible.

Blaming anyone was impossible when the immortal was at fault. The rapid fire swings onto the anvil soothed her spirit. Lost, she felt so very lost, but the furnace was warm and comforting. What a sight it must be, the patron of Lastation, without wearing an inch of protection, creating a sword.

She must have looked out of place. Clad in a sleeveless red dress shirt and black pants, it was as if she came to party than to work. Hell, her silvery-white hair was tied in a long braid to keep most of it out of her face.

Everything was set in motion and man, what were the mortals thinking of her now?

Black wasn't thinking very hard.

That wasn't the point of this excursion, however.

Making another sword was the sole reason for going outside and having to interact with people. Yes, she could've forged it in her Basilicom like the many others, but that wasn't going to help. She wanted to make it outside her comfort zone.

This was an experiment to test the difference between the cold and solemn halls of her church to the populated and lively air of this forge. Any upper hand was greatly appreciated.

Another fight against the three would be dawning on the horizon anyways.

And — while the concept of lowering her guard and possibly falling was a tad bit frightening — she did _trust_ Purple in a way. Their post-battle naps were good for her, she needed a moment of serenity despite how messy her own life was. Occasionally, she mumbled a quick 'thank you' to the traditionally disgruntled CPU, so Black was sure that her rival knew the appreciation there. What the immortal didn't know was _how_ the other viewed this engagement.

Reading the best goddess, a fact Black was not going to ever confirm, was puzzling. She was so damn stone-faced these days and when she wasn't like that, Purple was teasing her, verbally that is. It was annoying.

Did complaining about that make her pathetic? There wasn't a side of the CPU that knew anymore, what was the point? So much was happening in such little time these days, her head was spinning and spinning and and spinning and never **stopping**.

So many lies, so many years, so many murders, so much fucking _bullshit_.

The pounding of the hammer, the uninterrupted rush of scorching air, the sharp pains of her palm ate away at the dissatisfaction buried beneath the skin. Coming here was a good idea, even if she had to be outside of her safe haven. Little else in the world helped her the way that toiling by a furnace and anvil did.

Well, there were a couple things, but they tended to lean towards the murder aspect. As the ruler of Lastation, of course, several organizations wanted her dead. It shouldn't shock anyone that Black was good at what she was. With so little to dedicate herself to, how could it be a surprise? She was so, so tired of it. A shame, really.

Her sense of empathy for the masses was dwindling… or had it faded away years ago? No way to know, it's not like the goddess had cared about anything at that point in time. A myriad of whispers and feelings swarm her mind at the thought.

When had living become more of a chore to her than fighting? Why was walking beside others becoming so draining for her? She didn't know what was wrong. People were tiring and it was worthless to befriend anyone who would only leave in the end.

This is why the teen focused on the battle. But how sad it was, to have her, a divine leader amongst the masses, thinking war helped more than peace.

They were trying to kill each other and, while it isn't really a true slaughter, the intent was crystal clear.

She glances at her hand, the bloody gorge having been cauterized by the flames. What a mess Black was becoming, going to such lengths for a mere tool..

If her original caretakers were here, they would be scolding her.

Using blood, or ichor in her case, as an extra ingredient for a weapon was taxing on the body and add her being a goddess along with that, it just wasn't good. Not that she would listen, they were gone now and if she wanted to use herself to further her goals, then Black would.

She wasn't going to listen to them, didn't have to listen to them. And why should she? After what they made her do? After they left her in the fashion that they did? After they broke her? No, no, no. The goddess would never listen to their distant words and falsified smiles, how dare they put her down in such a way after dedicating her _life_?

Black exhales, reining in the **hate** , **hate** , **hate** , **hate** swarming in her chest. Now wasn't the time for another outburst, not when she was in the middle of something important right now.

 _ **Bang**_ _-_ _ **bang**_ _._

Everything didn't matter right now.

She went back to gripping the blunt and resuming with her work. Now wasn't the time to bitch and moan, the blade was almost complete.

Another arm to add to her vault for future usage. Another blade to wipe. Another tool to cut. And while it wasn't a masterpiece made by the finest technology, it was still hers.

 _ **Bang**_ _-_ _ **bang**_ _._

For this sword, this simple and nameless blade, reflected who Noire was.

She, who's true name would remain in her sheath and kept away from straying eyes, who was meant to be used to cut and slay and avenge and sever and reduce to nothing.

Noire who stood behind of Black Heart. Noire who would have no mention in the history books outside of Lastation's church archives. Noire who lacked and lacked and lacked and could only make things in response to the **void** embedded in her chest. Noire — Black wouldn't dare half-ass something this important.

Nobody dared bother her. This was a goddess doing her thing, why intrude? That, however, was not the only reason why Black remained untouched by any interruptions. She didn't notice, too absorbed in her forging.

But from the shadows stood a lone figure, who had been there for too long to not know her.

How could the immortal notice her company with her gaze firmly on the task in front of her? It changed nothing and somehow, it changed everything.

They watch in silence, letting the hammering echo through the room. They watched the golden-orange glow of the flames cause silver-snow strands to gleam. They watched the quiet and oppressive determination steel itself in that teal gaze. They watched as a new threat to the other goddesses was brought into the world, encased with the sensations its maker unintentionally gave it.

Black, despite her training and abilities, did not see them.

She continued forward, pulling more molds for more tools for her weary hands. Clockwork and yet, it defied all of the watcher's expectations. And so they stayed, observing drops of red drip into molten metal and be melded into arms of war. A calming day for both halves, really.

* * *

 _ **Guest: Thank you! And yup, yup, Black definitely misses Purp, but intends to keep Neptune the happiest and safest Nep in the world.**_

 _ **Rpbautis: Glad to hear you enjoyed it. I try real hard on making mortal and HDD distinctive to each other depending on the AU. Each chapter, if it isn't explicity stated in the chapter title, is based in a different AU.**_

 _ **xyzdreadnought: I'**_ _ **m relieved you like the NepNowa from last chapter. Sorry about Maelstrom, I wanted to try something new and it turned out very high charged. The continuation in my docs is much warmer and more affectionate than the first for sure.**_

 ** _Anibi: Thank you, thank you! I put a lot of thought in what is different in each AU and try my best to make things a bit different in each for variety's sake. Ripples are just so fun to place with and I hope to continue your enjoyment!_**

 ** _DavianThule19: Dunno about that just yet. That set up, and the reasoning behind it, will take a bit for me to think of, but I'll try. Though, you may like pieces when Nep's in Ultra/Plutia, I'm sure that'll get some posessiveness out. As for the selfishness, I always saw Noire/Black as a greedy type._**


	4. Empress II

_**Konductor back again and currently dying via college. Christmas break is the only reason I managed to get this out, someone help me. I also might be able to get another out before year's end, but no promises.**_

 _ **This is a continuation of the last chapter and I hope you enjoy it! Please tell me what you think in the comments, I really appreciate the feedback.**_

 _ **Thanks for reading and have a happy** **holidays** **!**_

 _ **Posted: 12/24/18**_

 _ **Edited: 9/17/19**_

* * *

"What did I just walk in on?" White asks the unendingly stoic Purple as the conversation falls silent. The oldest of the four — and, unfortunately, the youngest looking of the bunch — had tuned in as fast as her workload allowed. Though, it seemed she managed to dodge a bullet by being late.

A shame she can't avoid the next dozen.

They aren't talking with each other face-to-face, no, that would only cause a fight to break out. Well, more like a physical brawl instead of the screaming match that just took place.

Communication between the goddesses is standard, it wouldn't help if they couldn't talk to one another. The three screens showing the other CPUs isa shared project amongst the nations and, to be honest, White rarely sees it being used.

If anyone of them wants to talk, Celestia is the place of discussion. Private meetings could also be held there, but business tends to stay in the nations.

Considering the rift between the four parties, peaceful talks are far, far away from view. Celestia is a battlefield and the Console War would continue for the imminent future. Which makes this impromptu meeting off.

The patron of Planeptune sighs, leaning on her hand. "Green was mentioning the possibilities of yet another ball to encourage niceties for our people. All in all, it was just another veil to hide the fact that we will remain crossing blades until a winner is declared. Black wanted to veto the idea, it being a falsity and because of political problems going on."

The seafoam-haired teen huffs from her screen, "There are always problems in that dreary old nation. I don't see the issue in facilitating a sign that we are together to the outside world."

Red eyes fall to the empty image of the dark deity. "So, where did Fluffy go?"

The four of them are very volatile, given they are growing into adults.

White didn't bother looking at her counterpart, the brat would just throw her growing chest in front of the camera and gloat again. Purple is the sole goddess who acts as she did before: arrogant, quiet, unfriendly, stupidly powerful, and eternally looking down on them.

It's almost as if puberty didn't touch her — which is bullshit since she wouldn't stop staring at Black — but she's smart enough not to poke at that relationship.

Greenie did enough of that in Celestia and she always got thrown around like a rag doll in exchange. Getting her kicks off of annoying everyone would only going to get her killed. White rubs her neck, reminiscing of the time Black nearly lobbed her head off in a moment of rage. Yeah, that's something she did not need happening anytime soon. Lowee needs its leader.

"Venting," Purple yawns, politely covering her mouth with a dainty hand. "And getting answers. She was just told by a staff member that all the Basilicoms have agreed to hold a peace conference with the nations currently in power."

White leans back in her chair with a frown. A gathering? She doesn't remember hearing that from any of her people. Mentally backtracking a couple steps, she comes up with a total blank space there. Weird, 'cause events like that tends to be common fucking knowledge.

Are they trying to make it a surprise or give her less work?

"That sounds new to me. I don't recall ever overhearing any mention of that. Why is such a big deal for our fourth?"

There's a CRASH and muffled yelling from the empty screen.

A shitty eating grin creeps ontothe Green's smug assface. "It's stationed in Lastation next week and our darling, little fourth knew nothing of the planning until now." Oh.

Oh, yeah, that would be a major thorn in her side to just be informed of a celebration. For a perfectionist having to deal with that in less than a week... no wonder she's pissed.

There are the guests the Basilicom has to deal with, setting up the venue, the entertainment that has to be prepared, just about everything else and then the backup plans to every slip up that has a possibility of happening.

Because that is going to happen, knowing Black. If her strategies on the battleground reflects her habits, there's no doubting she would be paranoid.

"Did you not tell her anything or did her staff keep their mouths shut on the topic?" White asks, getting a shake of a head.

Ah, the blame isn't totally on that moron then. What a shocker, Green would've loved to cause some problems for Black. "So her church were the people who kept quiet? Seems pretty rude to their patron for not speaking up about it." The regality is sort of a mystery to the rest of them..

The twin-tailed immortal shrugs, "From the yelling, I heard that they were planning on surprising her. Apparently, she would've vetoed the idea of having in Lastation. Typical of her, but it looks like her staff got the upper hand this time."

Mortals are a cunning group of beings that they rule over.

People who are so divided and yet so damn close. A painful contradiction in her opinion.

The four aren't human in the slightest, they have human forms to blend in and to garner sympathy or whatever but little else. The blue-haired teen didn't know about the rest of them, but she enjoys being in that form more than anything. Is it abnormal? Probably is, given that White is a goddess.

Someone to rule over her people. Not one to live with them. It didn't work like that, no matter how peaceful and almost meaningless living like that is. There's a kind of longing in her, but to not have to deal with all this stuff is a dream that doesn't make a lick of sense.

"Hey, off topic, but, ah, do you two have any hobbies to kill the time?" That question gets her looks from both of them. None of 'em are bad or anything, they're were just judging and confused.

White would be the same if a rival asks her about hobbies of all things. Still, the subject is important to her and doing only paperwork is draining on the soul.

"I know Black spends her time crafting," the strongest among them starts, earning herself stares. "Something about needing to use her hands to remain calm."

Which makes sense with how fidgety Fluffy could get but the stares still remain. "As for myself? I simply indulge on whatever pleasures I have. Sleeping, eating, training and so forth.. However, I do some sewing when the urge comes to me and play whatever games catch my eye."

Eyebrows furrow in her direction. She really didn't want to know why Purple knows that about Fluffy. Information is nice and all, just not info so closely relating to a fellow goddess and her equally immortal stalker.

Fuck, is that why the violet deity is so into her darker counterpart?

The teen's has had her eye on the snow-haired ruler from when they met as children, it hasn't ended since then.

In fact, the obsessiveness frankly became even more insane with age only makes it worse. Having an angry Purple Heart on her ass is not a way to live, she's just a wildcard.

It's just bullshit.

Crazy, fucking bullshit that she did not need to get involved in. She had freaking self-preservation, unlike the apple of the most dangerous' eye.

Or maybe it isn't Fluffy's fault.. ugh, damn it, knowing her pursuits, attracting Purp is probably unintentional. "I do not want to know how you know that about her and I do not want to know anymore details about that stalker shit, alright?"

The fact that the teen isn't even looking embarrassed from her admittance does nothing to help.

Actually, it rarely ever helps.

Green gets out a long and tired sigh, rolling her eyes. "Goddess above, why is she continuously brought up? There is no need to pull such a—" and that's where White is gonna stop the brat, because she is not spurring an angry warmongering deity into getting pissed again.

"—Neither of us care, you moron." She glares, sending her tentative partner a shut-your-fucking-mouth-now look.

Why is she always starting shit here? What's the point in tryin' to tick off their strongest? Did Greenie want to get bat around like the oversized bouncy ball?

"This is for business, not stirring the damn pot again, and this is me asking for advice to give me some decent shit to do in my free time. Do not make this another pissing fest, I swear I will beat you with your screen if you do." The immortal inhales, trying to cool her temper down.

She wants to scream right about now.

Fuck that noise, White always wants to start screaming when someone wouldn't calm their freaking tits.

"Fine, fine. I partake in gaming, mostly. Online multiplayer games is what I do to unwind, though," Green eyes her older half, "I do doubt someone of your stature would garner any amusement from that. Occasionally, when computers are out of reach and no one is on, I do dabble in some painting and culinary affairs."

Lowee's ruler exhales, "Thank you."

A jab is acceptable, she knows it would be coming when Green's speaking her mind.

Everything, every single thing has to be a battle between all of them.

Not one piece is simply discarded, no. It's a fight amongst them and everything has to be used.

How the hell they are supposed to even look like they are working together when they all want is to kill each other? If this seafoam-haired pain in the ass keeps on with the passive-aggressive bullshit, someone is legitimately dying in the not so distant future.

There's no damn way she'd be able to keep Greenie alive if she keeps on purposefully stepping on the other pair's toes. Doesn't the the verdant brat know any better?

She massages her forehead, feeling the oncoming headache barreling closer and closer to her. It's a miracle none of them have died in the past century or so, why did growing up have to cause so many problems along the way?

Puberty is dumb for a bunch of girls that are never mortal to begin with. Why does becoming bigger even matter? It's so damn complicated.

Maybe White is just ticked that she of the four hasn't grown a shitty inch. Maybe it's because the youngest kept on swinging her tits around like she owns the place. Maybe thinking about it made it worse, but damn it, she is tired of this crap.

If ol' Fluffy were here, some threats would've been thrown about and miniature bouts would have to have been sorted out. Goddess help them if the snowy-haired idiot walks in on what's being talked about.

"Please tell me you didn't say shit like this when Black was here." Please, please, please tell her that they didn't start something stupid.

Take it from her harrowing experience — getting decapitating by a disgruntled little puppy was neither cute or funny — messing with Lastation's rep is just not worth the pain.

Sure, Purple wouldn't mind, but White is vastly different compared to that bitch.

The most important part being that White isn't a fucking sociopath like the other divinities. None of them are close to being that stable, all three of them have problems. And, unfortunately for White, nobody is admitting it. Hell, none of 'em are willing to touch the notion.

Black Heart is the easiest to figure out. Now, she wasn't tossing the blame on anybody, but there is a feeling that the nation had screwed up on raising her. She isn't blaming it on the idiot, since Black did try to be amiable throughout business, regardless.

Though, it is becoming pretty frickin' obvious she's losing every single shit about what is going on.

The young woman is a definite sociopath, though, more so than the other two.

The lack of real moral fiber, the tendency to lie, the apathy shown to the world, and even the impulsiveness. Granted, the eldest is no doctor and couldn't diagnose, but the signs are pretty fucking obvious and the entire list couldn't be the fault of Fluffy herself. Something is up and she knows it.

If she wants something, Black gets it, regardless of anything in her way. Dedication or maybe it's just how directionless the teal-eyed CPU tends to become when the fighting died down. Which makes sense with how progress is skewed for the eastern nation.

The bright side to her is the utter lack of bullshit most of the time. She's extremely straightforward when she says she is and has a good bit of honor in her to not go backstabbing.

"The majority of what Greenie said was making jabs towards her staff," Purple yawns, chin resting on the palm of her hand. "You can imagine how our fourth reacted to the idea of disloyalty within her ranks. Not surprising, seeing how militaristic leanings have influenced the regality. Her nation is dependent on loyalty, especially the in-workings of her Basilicom. Rumors of her eliminating betrayers are rather rampant."

"I can never tell if any information spread around the cities are close to being unvarnished. My distaste for our teammate aside, but trusting mere whispers is ill-advised. Humanity adores gossip," Green hums, glancing at the still empty screen. "It is much too easy for me to poke at the exposed side of her. A charlatan does deserve some of the frustration."

"Could you quit with the accusations too or is just a part of your personality?"

"Oh that's normal. Unfortunately for the rest of us, the heron loves to chirp and squawk. Fitting, considering that she is a damn bird, through and through." An unimpressed voice cuts in as Black sweeps back onto the screen, flicking some hair over her shoulder.

The frown on her face sure as hell didn't mean anything good would be happening anytime soon.

The brief glaring contest between the conflicting parties is a natural occurrence, but the frigid look in those teal eyes of their fourth conveys some very bad things.

Pissed couldn't begin to describe how fucking annoyed she is and, for the sake of her nation, White keeps her yap shut.

She met Fluffy enough as a kid to know what that stare entailed and wants no part of it. Lowee and Lastation are tight back in the day, only in less of a rainbow and sunshine type of way. They respect each other and it hasn't ended — the Console War be damned — with what shitty conflicts pops up.

"What was so crucial to take so long?"

Teal peers at the twin-tailed goddess before closing with a weak sigh. "Intelligence tells me we'll be having uninvited guests, regardless of how… polite I am. A crying shame that negotiations scarcely never go smoothly in my case." Black grumbled.

Everyone stiffens at that.

Of course, of course, someone has to add rain to an already stormy parade.

White did not need more crap along with welcoming more high and mighty officials. "Are you saying that more assholes are gonna be comin' out of the woodwork?" It is times like these where tearing her hair out sounds about right.

The Console continent are largely divided with its CPUs being so young. Them 'playing' in Celestia doesn't help whatever unrest that grows. So, nine out of ten times, the war has to be cut short when the Shares near an unacceptable level. None of them could afford to lose their standing.

Add to that some bastard going around and stirring the Goddess-damned pot along with their troubles, well, it gives birth to very disgruntled deities. People trying to overthrow them suck.

Is it any surprise that one of them's on the borderline of homicide these days? How she pushes that shit under the rug is one of the biggest mysteries of in White's lifetime.

Actually, no, how the hell Black manages to hide the murder from her, never mind the other two, is one of the the biggest mysteries. She isn't subtle — especially not on her thing for Purple Heart — and there isn't a smidge of her going to admit otherwise.

"Unfortunately, yes. I must apologize—"

The bitch herself interrupts, "Don't. We can't blame you for what's been unraveling for years now. You've been warning us that some are getting quite restless lately?"

Purple Heart gets away with shit by her creepy ass cult she has going for her. How the goody-two shoes pulls that off, she would never really know. Nor does she want to figure that out. So much of that cheery, happy crap she spouts is a lie and ugh, dealing with her is a headache in itself.

She has to have another face, something vastly different and White knows it.

There is just the problem of finding it and using that against the bitch.

Which is nigh fucking impossible.

Despite the proximity of their nations, the blue-haired CPU can't stand the twin-tailed teen. It's hard to say who has the shittiest relationship with who, seeing as they were going for each other's throats, but the two of them barely get along.

There's always a hate-love thing going around between the four. No one who isn't a part of their group is allowed to kill them.

Black — who loves to swear up and down on her stance otherwise — is the biggest contender to enforcing it. How to describe it is weird, they care enough to prevent anyone else hurting them but still want the war. It's just a fucking weird topic, alright? Nobody likes talking about it.

But there's something about Purple that White finds.. unsettling. Like the soft ring of warning bells whenever the bitch gets too close to nicking her.

Her gut did not enjoy Planeptune or its ruler.

Purple Heart is a menace and that opinion would never change.

She's dangerous, it insists and persists over the few years. A whole 'nother ball game that she sure as hell isn't ready to bash into dust.

Green raises a hand to get the group's attention. "My question is how a bunch of children hope to best the four of us. Our single weakest," the snow-haired young woman twitches at that, "has always been enough to crush the resistance out of any impending force. This has played out before, yes, so why do so again? What is there to gain by repeating the past?"

White rubs at her eyes, ready to finish this. "Then, I'm gonna assume you're going to go about it anyways, Fluffy. Typical response from you." Never the safe one, Lastation's head is.

"Next time, I'll try to throw you off then," the irked goddess promises, blatantly dismissing Green in her entirety.

"Do I not deserve a reply?" The moron grits out.

The smile that Black gives her should have been the answer.

'Should have been' being the key words, because — knowing the blade that regularly gets to cut down their foes — is a matter of self-preservation.

She isn't going to raise a fuckin' fuss about this either. Her idiot of a partner gets what she asks for by being a total ass.

Green Heart might be fast on her feet, but that top heavy idiot never makes the right choices when lighting a fuse. Ironic, given her temper, but that shit isn't relevant.

The four were divided not because of power. Rather, they are paired up for the sake of keeping the meager peace maintained among them. A near impossible task, seeing as one-half regularly takes to bothering their other. And swapping partners is begging for trouble.

Last time Green wasn't paired with her, Purple almost killed the moron.

Leanbox's rep has to be by White and White alone. A fact that continuously twigs her the wrong way. It isn't a bad feeling that the goody-two shoes inspires; no, something more confusing. Why she's so damn clingy to her is anyone's guess. No way in hell is White ever going to ask her, that would just make more problems.

And seeing as the CPUs always got into a verbal bashfest, she didn't need more problems piling up on her. She would accept passive-aggressiveness, not paperwork.

The sneer that implants itself on the cool visage of Black screams indignation. This is how the continental shares shifts beyond proper comprehension. Because of a shitty hissy fit. "Now why would an unimportant bird like you deserve one?"

"You overrated rabid dog!"

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Were you flirting with the waitress?"

Playful crimson stares into livid blue for a moment before going back to wandering through the cafe. "Of course not. The dear just looked so unhappy, I couldn't help myself." The young woman says, licking her lips.

Blanc, more like White, rolls her eyes at the flirtatious idiot. "Yeah, keep telling yourself that. That giddiness is not at all convincing, I hope you realize that."

"Shhhhh. Don't say those things, I was just being nice, you know? A cutie like her doesn't deserve to look so put out." Noire insists, poking the opposing immortal on the forehead. "Think of it as one of the aftermaths of you and that damn bird's spats, you obviously need a pick-me-up. One I never actually gave you when we were in the middle of another borefest, but it's the thought of it that counts."

How the hell she skims through the war is mystery too, fuck.

Then again, this is Noire she's talkin' to.

"You have gotta be shitting me. This better not be about another one of your schemes. I came here because of that announcement, nothing else."

"What about the cafe?" At her glare, Noire chuckles, "I kid, I kid. You love this place."

She settles into her chair, taking a quick look around the establishment before trying to relax. Fuck, there's still the feeling of someone watching her, but there's no Goddess damn sign of them. Still, the place is as nice as ever and, despite being in this nation, it is a favorite of hers. Who knew Planeptune has such a cozy, quaint place like this?

The cafe isn't as bad as she thought. The goddess-turned-mortal remembers being so frazzled the first two times they came here. Noire, uh, Black never fails to show the picture of calm when meeting in this place. A sign of just how damn stupid she is or the sheer assurance she's packing underneath it all.

This place is not somewhere that she'd normally see as a comfort zone. More like a place to have a panic attack, get caught and then die pathetically. But preservation sure as hell is not her.. companion's strong suit. That's being a murder hobo.

More emphasis on the murder and less on hobo. The regality's patron is much too refined for the latter to fit. Because Goddess forbid White ever having to deal with a sloppy puppish idiot.

Having a private meet n' greet here is.. damn ballsy of them, yeah. The whole city and what miles is beyond is entirely Purple Heart's territory.

The smarter option would be talking in their own areas, but no luck with Black. The dark-haired CPU always had control over where these little get togethers were. And she has hardly ever thought about basing them in a safe and protected place. Lastation and Lowee are overlooked for more lucrative sites. Because, of course, why not?

'Cause someone has a damn death wish and her tactical genius extends to paranoia is why.

Now, White — not Blanc, not the mortal, just like how it is Black and not Noire — didn't find it to be that big of a pain in her ass. There's always a method to the madness when it came to the darker deity.

This time the reasoning is predictability.

Not a big shocker, seeing that it is the trickster herself who suggested it.

But anyways, they have enemies. Big ones, a bunch of bastards that need to die before any damage is too deep to recover. She knows that; this is a cycle and her nation knows the score to a T. People would take advantage of the new leadership, people want war, people don't give a shit about each other.

The four of them have inherited a cruel world. Loyalty exists in a few and necessity makes it so they're raised a hell of a lot different than a traditional goddess.

Blanc has the backing of past goddesses, an upper hand the others sorely lacks. That lilac-haired crazy was raised by those who once had a CPU and were insane. Her current tablemate had been taken in by a radical group of Lastation, who were once of Lowee, and trained as the person she is today. And finally, the youngest and most aggravating of them all took to being brought up in the newest nation.

Back then, it was a time that might as well been a mad dash for stability. Obviously, the faux peace doesn't last.

Pausing in her skimming of the menu, White eyes her companion.

Lighter, brighter, so much happier.

The whiplash from Gamindustri proper and Celestia is jarring. But B–White knows the one in front of her.

Even dressed up in a fur collar green jacket, blue button-up and khaki pants did nothing to change the reality that this is the other half of the monochrome pair of theirs. The terror of many of their foes seems to fit in with a mortal life.

Funny, how the antisocial Black manages to get by on surface and how she really doesn't. Maybe, the days up above are taking a toll on her. The Console War is viewed dimly by the raven-haired teen, hell, she even took to ditching whenever it 'got too abysmal' or so she says.

Is this one really that's better adjusted here? Interacting and being super smiley with complete strangers?

White didn't have enough balls to disobey the need to do so. Yet, there the idiot goes, ignoring Purple and Green and vanishing. But now isn't the time for that, is it?

For both of them, their hair is tamer. Less wild, less chaotic and infinitely more manageable. Her tablemate's own is a smooth and almost princess-y curtain of obsidian. Once again, the contrast with her immortal form and how it somehow works. Hers has been trimmed in a way, it's springiness calmed and forming a not so restrictive bob-like cut.

No need to mention the whole blue-to-brown and snow-to-raven for them, that's ancient history for a pair that has known each other since they were freakin' kiddies.

They are friends and that shit.

The warmth that erodes in the years of warfare and clashes is back in place. And having the peace to see it makes White feel out of place. Her wearing a light green cutesy ass dress and looking nothing how she normally is… it's putting her on an edge, alright?

The asshole who is watching them chat. The bouts that are happening in Celestia almost endlessly. The fuckers who want to ruin the good in the world and are planning on shitting on everyone's parties. The feeling of danger that presses against her gut in Planeptune. The smiling face of not-Noire.

Thwap!

Blueish-grey eyes blink as she registers the stack of napkins hitting her face. What.

"You're thinking of Stupid things, dear~!" The grinning idiot basically sings, their waitress looking between the two of them with her notepad pulled out, thoroughly confused. Goddess, has she—? "Don't mind her, my friend over here is a deep and meticulous type of person. We're competitors, you see. She's even trying to write a novel too."

Wait… What?! What the fuck is Black telling the mortal?! That's private information, damn it! Is this the shit that she did when people aren't paying attention or is White just that special? She's gonna get it for this.

First order of business is her mouth fucking working. "Y–You really do want to be sent six-feet under, don't ya? Geez, did you have to throw something at me?"

Good, good, so White didn't blow up on her. There's still some semblance of control in her when dealing with this one. She really shouldn't make a scene in the middle of someone else's territory. Goddess fucking forbid they run into that damn Purple Heart in their mortal forms.

Knowing the trickster's accursed luck, that would probably happen in the future. Shit, is the person watching them actually that bitch?

She shakes her head, trying to push away the paranoia.

A pair of crimson eyes close for a moment, the hint of confusion and panic fading in the blink.

Noire — Black, not her, why did White keep switching? — turns to the waitress smiling coyly. "Of course, I would hate to leave this lovely lady waiting for you."

"You are an asshole." White sighs, "I'll have a medium thai tea and that coconut chocolate cake." The ticked off ruler turns to her darker friend, "What did you get?"

"Well, there was a new set of menu items that came out recently." The idiot grins at the incredulous look she's giving her. "Sooo, I ordered the smallest portion for each. To be blunt, I don't come here enough and I really should if they stock like this."

It's moments like these that she wants the table to be reinforced. Otherwise, it wouldn't be able to handle her head slamming into it repeatedly. "That's over a dozen. Can someone like you even finish that?"

"Duh," a fork waves in front of her face as Blanc twitches at the action. "I didn't eat before coming, don't tell me you did. This is our day off, we should be capable of picking whatever delicacy catches our gaze. The food here is always so bright and manages to taste delish." Black muses, winking at their blushing waitress. Some things never change.

Trying her best not to groan, the short teen glares at her friend as the lady leaves to the kitchen. "Could, could you stop leading her on? Seriously, it's weird hearing it from you."

"Oh, she knows that." At the blank stare, she elaborates. "Do you actually think I would do that to a complete stranger? For shame, Blannie, I have more class than that. All I have been doing is complimenting her. None of it too salacious."

"Ugh, that sounds like what my.. ditz would say."

Ditz, Greenie is a ditz, isn't she? A clingy ditz that took to making moronic ass decisions whenever the other half of the four comes.

Why is it so damn hard to make up alternate descriptions about her? She's an annoying, oversized brat that loves to shove White into her chest. How the hell did Black get by without saying their names? No, wait, did she just say White's mortal name?!

"You look like I committed mass murder. I'll have you know that nobody has died." Awfully specific denial being thrown around there, ain't it?

Clearly her face makes another look of disbelief or something because Black continues on, "The most I've been doing is triple checking the preparations for that damnable function my staff did without informing me. There's no time for me to do any dirty work." She pauses as if realizing that it isn't the reason behind the stare she's getting.

"Oh, wait. That thing wasn't what you were looking at me for? Oh, come on, it's a nickname! At least I didn't say that Blannie Blannie Bi thing, ah... Too late."

White's face falls into her hands. "I hate you so much right now, puppy."

"It could be worse. Our youngest competitor could be here and immediately shove you into her cleavage and start teasing you after hearing that. Or, your danger sense could actual mean our lovely hostess is here and listening to us. Which do you prefer?"

That is an answer to so many of her nightmares. "Just, stop. Just, stop talking. Please, I don't want to hear another word come out of your mouth about that." Why does she decide on dining with such a trouble magnet?

Oh, that's right.

Because the other two CPUs are just as bad in their actions.

She could not be in the same proximity as her counterpart without something unbelievably shitty happening to her.

Be it a fight, someone getting hammered, property damage, or a recording released onto the web. The suffering brunette is pretty damn sure that's Black at work, but no evidence ever pops up. Alliances with Leanbox are short-lived for a good reason.

Her own little artistic version of hell and heaven. Leaning towards hell more than anything, though. How she's still sane after dealing with the three goddesses is a miracle and a curse.

"Sorry," livid looks up and meets crimson. "Being a bit too energetic today, am I?"

"Yeah, you kinda fuckin' are."

Noire looks away, looking almost sheepish as they wait for their food.

"This is sorta the only good day I've gotten this entire week. So, I'm probably taking my positive energy out on everything around me. I'm pretty much a total grump, otherwise."

This is not the confession Blanc — because, yes, White Heart isn't a part of something so personal — was expecting. Is this even a proper place to talk about stuff like that? They are in the open, inside a pleasantly lit and mildly crowded cafe, and are balancing the line of privacy altogether.

"Why are you telling me this now?" Why here? Why not in the privacy of a church? Why tell her in the first place? She is Noire's enemy, the representative of Lowee.

"You deserve some explanation," she shrugs as if that was it.

"You're way too calm about this crap." Blanc retorts, "I'm gonna tear my hair out inside. Is that why you're likely to gank me on some days and not at all on others?" Calm and undyingly irritable one day and blindingly happy-go-lucky the next. "You sure you're not bipolar?"

"Psssh, if I was, I would probably be a lot worse. And nah, I just don't feel it sometimes. Doesn't really help when my tendencies come into the equation."

"So, do you casually want to off me or is it just a thing for our little bouts? Because I don't appreciate figuratively losin' my head to you." Blanc grunts, jokingly making some stabbing motions with her spoon.

"How very fearsome your spade is," Noire mumbles to herself. "And nope, that's me getting aggravated and starting to lose any shit I have to give about anybody in my surroundings. Do recall that I view the game between us as little more of an attachment to my position. Were it not for a certain someone, I wouldn't bother coming to that stupid thing in the first place."

"Feelin' the love," Blanc says, resisting the urge to say anything too revealing. The brunette would swear up and down that someone has to be watching them. And she would be bashing Noire into the ground if it's either Purple or Green.

It's probably the bitch herself. Who else would be in Planeptune territory? Greenie wouldn't chase her all the way her, would she? Oh no, no, no, she is not thinking crap like that.

Noire snorts, "Please, I care about you. Somewhat." At the glare, she shrugs, "I don't want to lie to you. Would be mean, you know? Besides, the event is coming up in two days or so… I would like to be on acceptable terms with you, Blannie."

Blanc blinks at that.

Oh.. oh, yeah.

That important gathering of theirs — which is probably gonna get interrupted by some bastard — would be happening soon. Personally speaking, the eldest is going to blame Noire for making her forget about it and why they're really there. Maybe, there's a chance this entire meeting is for what was just spoken.

Talking with Black or Noire, without fail, is a toughie. Unlike her partner, who roams and raves like a politician that's been infected with boredom, the darker deity has a near literal silver tongue that everybody had the honor of havin' to deal with.

But at least Noire is kind enough to admit to the Goddess damn lying.

That's a hell of a lot more than the others would do.

"I.. I may have forgotten about that happening so soon.. You sure you have everything under control? The whole thing was basically sprung on you." By Blanc's half of all people.

Her idiot of a companion waves her off. "I'm gonna be fine. My staff had most of it under wraps already, I just checked and made a few extra additions due to recent information. A little bit of extra security, some more cloth and cleaning supplies, a pinch of foolishness taken away. Everything is under control. And oh, our fair lady is here."

The waitress smiles as she rolls towards them what has to be a rollable rack with trays. Each tray holding at least four or five different portions of food.

A crazy ass amount for only two people. No, no, not two people, for one peppy puppy sitting across from her. The shit ton, which Blanc thankfully doesn't voice, is going to be her friend's problem. She's fine with her cake, thai tea and the damn comfortable cushion the seat has. Of course, Noire's got to ruin it.

Actually, scratch that. The smiling idiot in front of her consistently ruins the good moments. Why? Probably some form of vindictive pleasure or something."You want some?" It's a kind offer, though. When are these get togethers of theirs not?

Unmistakably twitching blueish-grey eyes glare at her. "Did I frickin' ask?"

The grin is sure as hell trollish. "You aren't saying no~!"

"Fine," and it is then Blanc instantly regrets ever agreeing to come here.

"Say 'ah', Blannie!"

"Oh, go die in a hole, Noire." Yet, she still goes along with the unusually happy immortal's request… conveniently forgetting about the one observing them from not so afar.

* * *

 _ **xyzdreadnought: I hope this one sheds some light on things. Sorry for the confusion. I do try to mix the dimensions a bit, it just seems like a waste not to use Celestia if possible. But thanks for reading!**_

 _ **Guest: Glad to see you caught that. I try to get in the mindset of the characters if possible and Black, for all her tsun, has to be carrying some burdens. Though, I will say I made a few shifts in the characters to match their altered pasts, so there's that to keep an eye on.**_

 _ **Rpbautis: Noire smithing just seems to fit? She just seems like the do it yourself type. Besides, the idea of the goddesses having some other hobbies they enjoy is a nice picture. Black Heart working a forge equally so.**_

 _ **Guest2: Close. You hit some with Noire's caretakers dying, but you're a bit off the mark on how they died. As for the rest, you'll just have to read to see.**_


	5. Divided You Fall

_**Hiya, Konductor here and I hope everything going well. It's a new year and I'm posting this is March of all months, sorry. Can't say I have an excuse besides real life going back to pummeling me, but hey, I'm posting now. Thank the Goddesses for that.**_

 _ **Anyhow, you might have noticed the rather dark title this time around, it'll make sense as you read. But I do promise that I have that fluff on the way for those who do love some peaceful, non-painful goodness.**_

 _ **A mashup with Superdimension's Console War and Megadimension's VII plot, this AU will get pretty messy in my opinion. It's really just a scenario where Black, White and Green were very much justified with kicking Purple down and out. Featuring some altered backstories and a tiny bit of headcanons sprinkled in.**_

 _ **I just really like the Console War, okay?**_

 _ **Comments at the bottom and I hope you all enjoy! Please tell me what you think? This hasn't been edited yet, so criticism please?**_

 _ **Posted: 3/14/19**_

 _ **Edited: N/A**_

* * *

Nothing went right with her. A reality she faced everyday of her life when things went not according to the plan. Failure was walling her in at every turn now, hope was such a _delicacy_ , wasn't it? Noire was almost jealous.

Almost. Never truly sinking into that envious green burrowing not so deep in her heart. Feelings could be such parasites at times, fangs sinking into her flesh and leeching the energy, the purpose from her veins. Some days, she yearned for when Black was empty. A slate yet to be filled for not completing her objective, a sentient tool for lack of better word.

Everything was so much more simpler in the bad old days, when the Console War raged. Simpler times where she did as she was told.

A pawn following orders of her caretakers rather than the young woman who emerged from the centuries upon centuries long conflict. Everyone she knew was different, but it was comfortable and safe in ways that now wasn't. **She** was there back then too…

Emotions took effort, you see. Noire fumbled with them, unused to human interaction and the consequences of _caring_ because she wasn't raised that way. Wasn't raised like a bumbling fool who helped everyone around her and was selfless as humanly possible. She would never be as good as Neptune.

Black was an extension of Lastation's will. She didn't need to think, just do and succeed. If only anything were that simple.

Sitting here in her lab chair, which was quite comfortable and out of place, Noire doubted herself. She was different, they were all different. Hell, she hadn't used the ability the Goddess each gave the four outside of mundane needs for decades now. As far as she knew, none of the other three used them either; Neptune certainly couldn't due to her amnesia, but that wasn't a major loss, given time the mongrel may learn of it.

When wasn't the lavender-haired fluff ball that fortuitous? Purple Heart was the same, or rather, Console War Purple was. Thinking about her always lead to questionable thoughts.

Their history was _**unforgettable**_.

She was so happy to have those moments of weakness get skimmed over in the history books, well, the _majority_ of the history books anyways. How would the world react to Black Heart being struck down and actually captured by her rival?

Smiling sadly, she stares up into the cold colorless ceiling, chuckling to herself. "Most of the oversea continents would see it as a challenge.."

Her nation was the one with the most competition on the eastern side of the realm, many would be chomping at the bait for a chance to knock her down a couple pegs. It wouldn't happen. Not when her opponents weren't even close to the cunning of **her**. Purple deserved her respect for bringing Black to her knees, no one else could manage to do so thoroughly.

But the concern was still very real, especially for the other two.

White and Green cared too much now. Blanc and Vert worried and always tried their best to keep her upright when she stumbled. A major change from the banter-filled pseudo-deathmatch the War was between them.

It technically wasn't a war at all, really. More of a competition since none of them were capable — or was it willing? — to kill their fellow immortals.

She inhales, breathing in the soft gentle scent of plant life and seawater from her surroundings. Turning her lab into miniature jungle and part-time fish tank was such a good idea. She wasn't completely lonely here because of that.

Not that it improved her mood, though, she didn't want to drag her pets into this. Better suffer in silence than making a huge fuss and getting the others involved. This was her problem, she should be handling it alone; what kind of ruler fucked up as bad as her? She wasn't going to wallow in the pity party.

Uni was probably right that she was working herself too hard.

The world felt _flat_. **Hollow** , as if the colors that she once discovered had dulled over a short time span. Living was more a burden than a delightful blessing. Making and making no longer felt _fun_ and that wasn't right, creation was her core.

She wasn't useful without her work. She didn't have a goal beyond helping the others and taking care of Uni and Lastation. Pointless. Noire wanted to be helpful, useful to her.. friends.

No matter how she butchers relations with them; she cared, she cared, she cared, _she cared_.

So she couldn't _stop_ and breathe when Uzume was still out there. The dimensional gaps, or holes as the public and the idiots called them, remained and caused monsters to spawn heavily. Failure to double down on finding the former goddess was crucial! Noire dug her nails in the palms of her hands, she created a device that got Neptune and the Ultradimension company to this world. Making it so it found the woman they were after had to be a cakewalk. And yet, it wasn't and the fuse had been lit.

If she didn't finish it, she was going to **destroy** one of those damn gaps herself and nobody was going to get in her way. For the sake of stress relief, of course.

Her body was going to legitimately give out if she kept it running like this.

But who cared if her body felt weighed and strained? Who cared if her vision faltered at times? Who cared if she was careless? Who cared if the minor accidents were taking longer to heal? Who the hell cared if she lost interest in everyone else?

Nobody. Nobody cared except Uni and the ever attentive K-Sha with Kei off with her own life. The others were busy with their own affairs too, Histoire even contacting Ultradimension for this incident. People were panicking and the CPUs had to do damage control. And it made her feel worse to know those two were fretting over her and worrying themselves over **her** , rather than doing something useful.

What kind of sister was she to keep _fucking up_ when things were important? Black needed to finish the device to find that Uzume or Kurome or whatever the hell she was called.

Had to help after being captured with the other three for who knows how long. It was unacceptable of her to be so _useless_. She had to provide some aid. Noire could rest after the dark dreamer was apprehended and peace returned in the cycle.

This wasn't healthy. Staying in her lab for weeks to even a month or two was **bad**.

She was too Stupidly stubborn to fold here, though. An incorrigible fool to the end. Hell, she was willing to bet that there was a large possibility Noire could die like this.

Death was sort of like sleep, right? And she hasn't slept a proper night's sleep in a week at worst? Showering and eating were needed — a clean workplace and full stomach were vital — and yet sleeping never looked so _unappealing_.

Sure, it sounded interesting to throw back-and-forth, but definitely inappropriate. Noire was a tiny bit curious on the topic and she would do anything to keep her creative mind awake and alive when she wanted to die inside. Didn't work well metaphorically, the thought still counted, yeah?

Maybe… a tiny nap would do her some good.

.

..

….

…

….

..

.

Noire wakes up back in her lab and in the chair with a certain soreness in her neck. The presence has changed considerably, the scent of everything she brought suddenly overpowered as background pieces.

Looking around gets her nothing. It's the exact same room, isn't it? Or was this another dream lying to her senses, the later would make sense with how few hours of rest she's gotten this time around. But this wasn't a hippy rainbow of colors and senseless images, this seemed so much like reality? Something was off, though. Her senses were saying that much, but **why**?

She rubs her head, trying to think up with some reason why. Nothing comes to her. It's baffling, had a piece of furniture been moved to the side by a few centimeters? No, that didn't settle the pressure on herself. So, what was wrong?

This wasn't a nightmare-esque dream. Her research and papers hadn't been tampered with or stolen on her desk. She just felt so uneasy, so different.

She wasn't thinking straight. Twisting a few silvery strands, she knew there was a part of the puzzle she was overlooking. She just knew, now how could she prove it?

Something.. isn't _right_. Even in the darkness.

And the darkness was her safe haven. Out of the four, she used it to her advantage the most in and out of battle, yet the gut feeling of someone — something watching her. Fear isn't the first emotion that comes to the forefront of her mind, it's apprehension. She'll be fine, this is a dream, she wouldn't die from it.

Her repeated night terrors as a child, which only grew to nightmares was a testament to her resilience. But the off feeling was lingering in the air, making her twitch every few moments.

"You certainly look out of it today, little Black. Why not close your eyes for a spell?" _**Oh**_ , look hallucinations. She turns her chair, a frown falling into place as Purple Heart steps away from the shadows. "Why the long face? Aren't you happy to see me?"

Purple is here? In her reality-like dream? Her arms fall into her lap, the world was moving again. Or was that just her trembling at the familiar tone of the woman before her?

She holds herself differently than usual, a lazy and relaxed stance that _lied_ , _lied_ , _lied_. None of it sang of the mongrel who had been trying to handle the monsters coming from the dimensional gap. She was _smiling_.

There's an **odd** feeling in her stomach, rising and rising. The cracks are becoming more and more visible with her appearance. She should be scared, should be breaking at the sight of her being so close to Noire's weakest moment. "I would believe you would be angry with me." And that is not at all what Noire wanted to say.

Her mind could not handle being near a goddess like her.

Fizzling out with her here. Looking at her with a gaze that said value and trouble and memories. This wasn't her Purple Heart of the present, was it? The presentation, the azure blue stare of smugness, the power hungry aura, the way her heart accelerated at _every single thing_.

Can she control herself? Her hand twitched according to her command, she's gripping the arms of her chair. Never not keeping her sights on the woman of the hour, though.

Not when her hazy, hazy mind is whispering **danger** in her ears. Purple Heart was, and forever will be, the most treacherous player of the game. Neptune's bright and rewarding smiles can't erase the way Purple sinks into her skin.

She isn't going to drown now. Not again, not again, not again.

"Not angry. Just disappointed in you and the other two for letting me disappear so easily."

Oh, _oh_. Now that hurt a lot more.

A metaphorical blade protruded itself from her chest then. Disappointment, merely throwing the word back and forth in her mind made her want to bend her head and apologize with all of her heart. She's being played with at this moment, but Black can't get away. The trap had been sprung and she was a **fool**. An encounter like this was immediately slated at a loss, so why was she still sitting in her chair and accepting these words as _absolute_?

Did she see her as a failure like how Black saw herself some days? That would be a painful conversation. It would be solved, thorough and messily, but it would have an answer. She was just so _tired_ right now, perhaps sinking beneath the waves and being dragged under the riptide was the right decision. Purple wouldn't hurt her, not when she knew who she was.

Her pace had been broken, it's pieces stolen from her and she was sinking fast. There was no life vest, no life saving mongrel coming to her in this dream prison.

There's an hand on her forearm. "Try not to drown yourself in your lonesome." When did she get in front of Black? "I can punish you if the hate is getting too much." Following the offer, there's another hand touching her.

 _Playing with her hair_. She leans into the touch, soaking in the warmth of a figure who was all too willing to torture her. The ruler deserved what she got.

White and Green would be so worried if they heard that butterfly flap its wings. They tried so hard to tell her otherwise, to get her to change that self-destructive thinking her caretakers had given her; reaching out was **so much more difficult**. She was going to shatter and break. There was going to be shards of herself flying as her everything and nothing collided. It wasn't scary.

"No. I.. don't need that anymore. You can't be her."

"Oh? And how am I not her? What makes us so different?" She's closer now. Standard Purple behavior, though, always pushing the boundaries to their limit. Almost mocking them with her minimal effort and flair. "You are working yourself to the bone."

 _Deny it_ , deny it and stop her influence from spreading, her mind whispers. Her heart? Her heart is confused and the world is fogging up again. She can't see, she can't get out of this place.

"I won't die from it," Black protests, voice practically whining against her once foe. Blue-green burning with bubbling laziness and need. "I would never die from that. I just need to find her. That woman…"

The cage of warmth moves slightly at the insinuation. Her captor is slow and steady in her embraces, gradually pulling her deeper with very little effort involved. "Destroying yourself for everyone else's sake sounds like something you would do, huh. What a stubborn little wolf pup I have found and I've taken."

Taken. As if she's already won the encounter, but then again, hasn't Purple already done so? It was a hopeless struggle.

She's cracking, the seams of her control breaking, Black was stuck and was **liking every moment**. Each aching bit of her loved this.

The return of the animal references was a good touch too. Goddess, did this feel nice.

Noire's hair was always so sensitive, the slow and near intimate way Purple ran her hand through cloud-colored strands was perfection. Or close to it if it existed. It made nodding off so much more tempting as their chat went on. She really missed these moments..

Feeling that made the rippling waves all the more tempting to fall under. This Purple, purely the immortal who stood beside and against her so many times, was _here_.

And, unfortunately, self-control was left to its own mechanisms. She was here, embracing her, treating her so well. Nothing was hurting, nothing was wrong, nothing was greeting her and mocking her and hated her.

She was allowed to be greedy, _right_? To have her all to herself and bask in this familiar, unchanging and addictive aura? Nobody, other than Uni and K-Sha, had visited her in what had to be days. Yet, Purple came and bypassed the protections keeping unwanted guests outside; obviously, it didn't work on this guest either. **But that was fine, right**? She was here, she was here, she was here and nobody would take her away again.

"What is it I'm supposed to be doing then?" Another whine. "Give up?"

 _Yes, yes, yes, yes. She wanted to fall._

"Rest, mainly. You are no good when delirious." More comfort pats as she slowly got up from her chair, Purple moves to guide her to the bed in the far corner. "You do not mind if I join you?"

"You'll leave in the morning before I wake up." This was a **dream**.

Purple laughs, the throaty vibration getting shivers out of her. "Do you still believe I am nothing more than a memory?" She can't be here. She **can't** be.

"Neptune has amnesia, how could you be here?"

 _Please stay. She needed her._

"Answering a question with a question is quite rude, little Black."

Teal — and Black wasn't even sure if they weren't a murky hue again — quietly eyed the woman before flopping unceremoniously onto the bed. She wasted no energy in pulling the blankets down and back up after settling in, Purple sat beside her on standby, just watching. Was this actually happening to her? Was she _real_?

She wanted this. She was lapping up every second like a kitten hungry for its cream. She wanted this to last an eternity and never fade.

This had to be a dream, her mind was too tired and weary… How else would the women know of before everything had happened? Uzume, or Kurome as Nepyine had decided on nicknaming her. The final boss was missing for months, it would fit.

Even as hesitant and slow as her mind was, that had to be the answer to this. Someone had to really hate her for this to happen. Or it was a tactical decision.

Either one screwed her over.

"Uzume Tennōboshi." The hand in her hair stops at the name. "She's the one who was messing around in my head and in my memories when we were caught. She's the reason why you're here. Mongrel, you're working with her."

A giggle rings out around them, the hand starts to play around again. "Good, good. A week of no sleep and otherwise healthy maintenance and you get the picture as easily as ever… not bad, puppy. You are still so entertaining; begging and whimpering for me in one moment and defiant the next. You really do intend on being a thorn in everyone's side, huh.."

Noire will admit her heart breaks a little at the confession. Purple was here again and this time was going to be against her for certain. She was at her mercy.

 **Again**.

"You never told that weak me about the past, did you?" Her hold is rougher now, she's on the bed and smiling so happily while twisting her defenses piece by piece. _She's on her_. Hands keeping her in place rather than playing that game of sensitivity.

Purple sounded so proud then. Happy that memories were separated and that she was here as a harbinger to the next event. As if praising her wayward pet after years of disobedience. And she was her **pet** , _folding to her influence and all too eager to please_ … No, do not think any further. Already was the mental pollution affecting her.

She was stuck here now. Beneath an enemy-turned-ally-turned-enemy and there was no escape in sight. Black only had herself to blame for this. Who else could she blame for being so weak for her?

"No, I didn't tell Neptune about what happened between us. She… she didn't want to remember and I honored her decision like a good friend would have.."

Purple hums a bit at that, "You did not protest against me saying she is the weaker half. It is nice to hear you say I am the better than _her_. Nonetheless, you and the other two let me go. It took my own predecessor for me to do anything, would that not infuriate you? To suddenly be ignored and never again to appear before your fellows. But do not fret, little Black, I'm not angry. I know I **will** have the chance to pay you three back."

Her nails go to gently brush her scalp as Black sighs. "So this isn't your payback then? More is to come for us because of me."

She feels so weird now. Both mind and body melding from the close contact and low-pitched words. She had focus on resisting, but it seems the scars from years ago still made their mark — Noire was helpless as before and the need-to-please was biting her for all it is worth. This would not end well for her, not with herself in shambles.

"You should not carry the blame when it is meant to be shared, puppy. But you will be getting your just desserts later on. Remember when I clipped your wings? Compared to your future, that day will be a mere drizzle; getting out of this unscathed will be impossible."

That last line did tug a shiver out of her. Those were bad days and the shadows from then still took to lingering in her eyes and psyche. Everywhere was going to hurt soon

And there was nothing she could do to stop it.

 _Why didn't that bother her?_

Noire had been pulled into her pace again and this time, there was no escape for her.

She was out before very long, the dwindling few perks of already being used to her administration. Which really wasn't good, considering her position, but Black didn't really _care_.

Noire had lost.

.

..

….

…

….

..

.

There was no one in the room when Black woke up for a second time. But at least now there weren't any cramps and pains in her neck for falling sleeping in a chair. It seemed there was some small mercies after all, even if said mercies cared not for her.

In fact, why was she thinking about that?

She… she woke up in bed is all. The blanket was warm and cradled her in ways she only **dreamed** of. Her mind was still in the lethargic haze, everything was right in the world at the moment, wasn't it? But.. there was feeling of **regret**.

Had she forgotten something? Her dreams were blank, so her sleep have to be fairly peaceful. That didn't soothe her, however, a piece had vanished. Something _happened_.

Or was that just her sense of unease mixing with paranoia again? It had been a rough few days lately, perhaps it was just her being high-strung and itching for the calm before the storm to end. Would cutting the abnormal monster population down help? No, probably not. She tightens her grip on her blankets, mind too exhausted to want to move.

She could just say here and rest. Just for today. A short, short break to kickstart her productivity to find that Kurome-Uzume woman to justice, that had to be fine. Besides, the bed was just and warm and comfortable.

Anything could work as a distraction to the world if one tried hard enough to believe, after all, Noire was an expert in that. Spending a day in bed would keep her sharp too. She was not going to be blindsided, not after her second capture by an immortal.

Curling up on her side, Black still can't shake the feeling. What a shame. Hopefully, she could deal with it tomorrow if it kept on bothering her…

.

.

.

.

.

In a starry abyss, two beings sat. They were both remarkably similar, though, it was obvious that they were distantly related, if actually possible. Shades of darkness and purple suited the ones who would bring Gamindustri to its knees.

"You certainly look mighty pleased with yourself." The older of the pair says, leaning back on a chair she created for herself.

The twin-tailed younger smiles. It's a pretty thing with her eyes brimming with contentedness and victory, hiding the sharp cutting edges of a woman scorned by those around her. "How can I not be? I had a little chat with my darling little Black, I set off some useful legislation for the future, I got to play with my puppy and I'm gradually taking her back. What is there not to be happy about?"

"It wouldn't do for Black Heart to succeed in her plans yet. The stage is slowly being set and tensions haven't risen to the point I would prefer, but the pieces are moving into place."

"Indeed, they are. It's only a matter of time." Purple chuckles, setting her ōdachi down as she stretches. "I must thanking you for this opportunity too."

Uzume shakes her head, her smirk never faltering. "I should be thanking you, really, had I not found you in Neptune's mind, I would never have had a proper way to send the CPUs spiraling. This was a lucky break for both of us and I intend on utilizing it to the fullest."

Cerulean twinkles. "It is going to be the absolute satisfaction when it comes to fruition. Just thinking about it makes me _giddy_."

"Do you have a plan for your pet? It won't take long for her to snap out of whatever magic you used on her. She is the only one vaguely aware of anything we have planned." Black Heart was an undying thorn in the side.

She would be the first to break from it all.

Purple is quick to end her worries, however. "Of course, I do. Little Noire is too useful to let go of.. Neglecting her would be a crime, besides I really cannot help myself when I see her. It will be fun to make her snap again, who knows, maybe this time the damage will be irreparable and take out the weaker me out. Wishful thinking, but who really knows?"

"Fortune does favor the bold. On the topic of usefulness, what the Gold Third can do to interfere with the goddesses is eluding me. Any ideas on that front?"

"Well, K-Sha is still unstable as a person. S-Sha worries immensely over E-Sha's body. The other two, I don't know, but they were mortals. Humans tend to break easy when torture gets implemented, their minds are surprisingly fragile."

"I did that already."

"And I broke Black in a couple months while beating back White and Green. You're pretty good at crushing them, but you are not _me_." After all, the effects from the captivity were still affecting the snowy-haired deity even now. "Give me the reins for your pawns and I'll make some delicious chaos for the world."

Uzume stares at, darkened eyes practically peering into her soul before looking away and sighing. "Very well, I did ask." She glances at her junior, tossing a particular question back and forth before deciding. "Tell me, just what did you do to your counterpart?"

"Hm?" Now that surprised her. "I thought you delved in her mind."

The daydreamer twitches, "She was difficult. Struggling and failing to sleep unless drugged. Even then, her defenses spent too much of my time, I failed to gather anything other than her weaknesses and dreams in the end."

"Ahh, no wonder you keep calling her a thorn. Though, I am pleased to hear my orders to keep the events that transpired between the two of us."

"You aren't telling, then?" Odd to hear the chessmaster complain.

"You will know eventually. It won't be a secret for much longer, especially when I reveal myself." She hums, staring up into the dark expanse, almost as if she were staring up into the sky of her nation. "I will be departing again soon, Noire has fallen back to sleep."

"You are awfully attached to Lastation's ruler, can you do what we need to succeed?" This wasn't one of Uzume's creations after all, this was another CPU.

Purple stands after reaching down to grab her ōdachi from the floor. Her gaze steely and cold to those who didn't know the woman better. "Me? _Fail_? That's a funny thought." She laughs about it, switching to something other than her processor. A simple blouse, skirt and jacket to match. "Worry about your side of the plan, I'll do my part."

She walks away, heels clicking on the ground. Expression as frigid as the deep seas as she huffs, "As if I would lose to a **faker**."

* * *

 _ **Have I mention Kurome/Uzume is fascinating? Because, she is. The concept and how she works is just so fun.**_

 _ **Anyways, onward to the comments!**_

 _ **Guest: You are suprisingly close. Kudos to you, dear Guest! I mean, not all of it is on the mark, like Black knowing that Purple's there? Nope, she's kinda oblivious. You are steadily getting there with the first part, though, I urge you to continue on! Glad you like it and I hope to keep up the good work! Do you mind using a name other than Guest, though? A name that separates you from others, maybe?**_

 _ **Enaik: I tend to see Noire and Blanc as the two semi-sane people of the group, so bonding time! Besides, they're sorta similiar? Distant-ish and hardworking. But I am firmly a NepNowa shipper with some others, of course.**_


	6. To Triumph Goes

She didn't know when exactly she lost faith in everything. There wasn't any point to really pinpoint the day where Purple couldn't rely on anyone else but herself.

Well, that wasn't entirely _true_.

There was someone should could rely on when hope had been lost, the stubborn little light in the darkness. A snowy rabbit had caught her darkened gaze as children, an instant of that naive interest having changed it all.

What happened was an accident, none of which should have happened normally, but it did and Purple was thankful for that. A while after the four's first few meetings, Neptune was traipsing around the mountainous borders of her nation's and Lastation. And it was there that she found the most curious pair. Half of a pair that is. Someone with an uncanny resemblance to…

No. It wasn't mere similarity. It had to be her with that messy mop of silvery-white and eyes like jewels. Her expression wasn't prickly and bored like her, but Neptune just knew it was Black.

She was different, though. Happier, lighter and much less grumpy with the mortal she was playing with. Then again, nobody came here, did they?

Around the nearly empty borderline between Planeptune and Lastation, very few people ever ventured for the sake of safety and adventure. Heck, it was her second time poking the place for anything interesting to do. What luck to find this.

But the baby deity didn't do anything.

All she did was watch from the sidelines as Black played with her blue-haired friend.

Neptune was happy to see her so overjoyed and bouncing with this friend of hers, it meant Black had a friend. Talks between the nations weren't very nice, but she wanted her half, **her partner** to be a tiny bit happy at the least.

Seeing this side of her was a treasure in itself.

Why wouldn't it be with Black being so stubborn and tired and just not into the stuff in Celestia at all? This side of the bunny had to be cherished and properly taken care of, Purple knew she would return the favor too. So, it was a win-win. Honor did have its perks and they were both dedicated practitioners in those ways.

Life was generally a bore. The things she use to do in the beginning that sparked her interest were dwindling, nothing exciting happened on the Console Continent. That didn't mean she wanted war, though, something like that was a wish she didn't want fulfilled.

That meant fighting _against_ her fellow goddesses.

Which hasn't happened ever. And she was pretty sure she didn't want it to. They would be against each other than.

That wasn't right. She wanted everybody to get along, not fight.

It was lonely being a goddess, immortality caused the gap between her and others to widen even more. Friends would be nice and making Black her friend would be even better! Locks of lavender shake as Neptune nods to herself, it was the perfect plan.

The two of them would be friends and take on this crazy world of theirs. First things first was making her counterpart smile.

Which was a lot harder when you were trying to be friendly and not just tease the stuffing out of her. Still, seeing Black so happy meant it wasn't impossible, just tough.

And she was content with that. Watching and waiting for the lone rabbit to hop her way. In that metaphor, Neptune was the wolf and what a wonderful wolf she would be. Playing with a mortal or not, it only fed her want to succeed and have that light all to herself. Not that sharing was bad, though. The violet deity could do that and she could do a lot more along with that.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Black, Black, Black, Black!"

Black flinched as she pounces onto her back, nearly falling flat on her face were it not for her balance skills. She basically bent forward and jerked backwards to straighten. Like a slingshot, almost.

What a resilient little rabbit. And why did Purple come to associate her with a small, furry lil' bouncer? She had the hair, which was pure as snowy and silky to touch, and occasionally the eyes when the darker deity got angry. There was also the need to actually have mortal buddies, which wasn't proven, but she did see it as a necessity.

And if it was a need, then why not make the burden a bit easier on her? She was a nice person, willing to help her people and fellows after all. This couldn't be that bad.

There's a bit of grumbling beneath her since she was on Black's back. "What is it, mongrel? I don't like surprises."

"Let's go explore Celestia!" It was close by because they were already _there_. There were only a few monsters, most of which she hasn't even gotten to hustle with and this was a good place to bond either way. Learning about this place was something mortals couldn't do.

"Excuse me? Why would you wanna go exploring with me? If you want to drag someone into your crazy ideas, ask one of the other two. They'll at least humor you." She waves her hand in the direction White and Green may have gone.

"Buuuut, they don't like me! You're the only one who doesn't get all growly at what I say. Pretty please with pudding on top?"

Teal stares her, incredulous. "Isn't it cherry on top?"

Purple blinks at that, mentally repeating what she said if only to understand. "Is it? I put pudding in because pudding is great and cherries can taste so weird. Fruit's not supposed to be all icky and bitter and stuff, it should be sweet and addictive and yummy~!" She declares.

"You're going to be the death of me. The literal death of me." The regality's young leader sighs, stopping her futile attempts at getting the practical piggyback ride to stop.

"No, I won't. Friends don't kill _friends_ , that just isn't right!" And even if war did break out with the four nations, this cutie right here wouldn't strike Black down. Never.

At that, she stares at her even harder, like trying decipher her hard. "We're… we're friends?" As if she never heard of the word friendship or considered it with the three of them. Now that was crazy, of course, they were friends or were going to be friends. Nothing in Nep's way remained!

If so, she'd have to fix that idea. They were going to be friends and they would take on the world together. Mainly 'cause she didn't know Lowee and Leanbox's people very well and really wasn't interested them the way she was with her half. Maybe that was just a thing, being curious 'bout your counterpart and responding to that feeling.

"Yup, yup. Friends we are, at least I hope. Come on, please? I just wanna see what's out there and I wanna have someone with me to enjoy the adventuring!" It would be nice to get her to smile the way she did with that human.

A tiny bit selfish, but it was for the sake of good. Who wouldn't want such a pretty girl not to smile, that should be a crime.

Besides, a smile a day keeps the sadness away and obviously, the cloudy-haired immortal needed every bit of that to keep her bounce. It was the right thing to do along with wanting to have her. She didn't need to know that last part just yet.

Eventually, maybe. First was getting her to agree, there was no way that flag would happen if this one didn't work. The order operations or something like that. But there really wasn't anything to worry about, Black was actually thinkin' about them being friends and that might as well act as some acceptance if it meant what it did.

Neptune didn't have to fret over a thing.

"Fine, fine. It's solely because I'm curious about these floating i–islands." She says, making a face after stumbling over the mention of the last word.

"Haha, words are annoying, aren't they?" At the continued pout, the violet deity furthers on. "And don't worry about those things, I like your lil' accent when you talk, you should really talk more often." Purple nods, arms folded to look professional.

How she went without talking with an accent most of the time was a mystery. Probably because of her image and stuff. Besides, trippin' over her words and just being her fluffy self was just a regular thing, why not take some pride in the moment and bask? Victory was still victory and she was definitely feeling victorious.

"..Are you going to get _off of me_ now?" There wasn't desperation in her now, so it couldn't do with the whole carrying someone else thing — but how much upper body strength did she have?

"Nah. I'm comfy up here, how'd you have so much strength?"

"Huh?"

"You aren't even **sweating**. How are you so strong?"

"I… just am strong?" Black makes a face, "I just lift weights and train and eat my vegetables."

Waving her arms around, Purple refuses to accept that. "That's not what I mean!" Ugh, why is wording stuff so hard? She was a goddess, a CPU, a soon-to-be true ruler of her nation. It shouldn't be so tough to do and yet it is. "I mean you don't even struggle! And you're lifting me!"

What was so hard to see about it?

"Oh… dunno. I just train a bunch and then train some more." Cloud-colored strands bounce with each forced step, she was walking towards somewhere. "I'm kinda struggling to carry you right now, though. You probably don't notice is all."

Ahhh. "So, where are we headed?" That was the next order of business, wasn't it? This was nice too. Peaceful and fun, Purple's never been carried by someone smaller than her. But she wasn't gonna say that.

"Not a clue. You were the one who wanted to explore this place, I just picked a direction." Black grunts, keeping her pace while avoiding anything that could get her to trip.

Hahaha, what a thoughtful little bunny she would. Going ahead and starting their exploration while not forcing to have to smooth; yup, Neptune did have a good idea who makes friends with, after all. She keeps her gaze centered on the one carrying her first, though. The face of determination was burning its way into her memory minute by minute.

The way her eyes burned, her face blank and focused, the firm line her lips remained, how she keeps her passenger upright. Cute, cute, cute! It really was a good idea to sneak this teal-eyed immortal into her hands. What kind of lady would she become in the next few years?

A pretty lady better than the rest, of course!

"Do you want me to get off then? I don't ya to be too tired, exploring without my buddy wouldn't be fun after all." She offers after a couple minutes of forestry.

Her friend takes a while to respond. Stray monsters interrupt the peace are quickly skewered by a wave of swords, altercations Purple watches with widened eyes. They keep moving forward despite the few roadblocks and then, eventually, Black responds with a firm no. So she gets to stay on her back for a bit longer.

It's very calm. Celestia is, surprisingly, not that different from the land beneath it. Sure, the trees and plants and monsters come in different shapes in sizes — they passed by a portion completely made of **crystals** , Nep saved that as a locale immediately before her friend moved on — but nothing huge and awe inspiring, not like Black and herself.

What she did learn was that her partner had this cool thing called a 'gate' where she could shoot its contents out at the unfortunate obstacles. Purple sorta wanted one too, but this was her friend's special thingy. She would find an even better one later.

And that the changes in the forest and not-forest tended to happen with different floating islands. There was one made of sand, how did something like that work?

Black was more interested in the monsters, though, she did agree that was pretty weird. Nothing wrong with it, just off. How they managed to cross a large distance was interesting too. As far as Purple knew, the four flew everywhere.

Humans were the ones who walk. Buuuuut, flying with a passenger on your back did have to be tough and tiring, if she really thought about it. Amazing that the darker deity could do this for so long without faltering!

Well, until a mother of all rivers is discovered and her ride _can't_ continue.

"You don't know how to swim?" She asks, kicking a couple pebbles into the water to see how deep it was. It didn't work.

As in, Purple could not see the bottom or the pebbles that were tossed in. Yeah, she was not gonna test how teaching swimming worked on the fly, 'cause her rabbit drowning was **not happening** , thank you. With that in mind, Purple goes over to pat her on the head.

Black's not even looking at her or the river, but she gets it. She does, really. "Sokay, sokay. I'll teach ya later than, you wanna rest here for a bit? We can try to catch a couple fish!"

She was a great distractor of issues if she could get the bunny to beam like that.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Neptune was a being of simple pleasures. Things like sweets, pudding, Black Heart, games and naps were her way of unwinding from this ring-a-ding world of theirs.

She'd love nothing more to spend the rest of her immortal life with her silly rabbit. That's how charmed Purple was by the contradictory existence of the snowy-haired deity. What wasn't there to like?

Yeah, yeah, Black was a bit rough around the edges. The lady-to-be of the eastern nation kept on refusing to spar with the rest of them and never seemed to have a proper weapon — the cool gate thingy didn't count, cause magic. And, to make matters worse, she didn't let her come visit at the Lastation Basilicom.

Which makes sense.

From the rumors floating about, the situation in the regality was _tense_. But it didn't stop Neptune from wanting to look around.

Black could be so serious too. Not like, adult super serious, but still too serious for her standards. She didn't have a stick up her bum like a lot of the mortals did, though. That was the bright side and there wasn't a lot of that there.

Planeptune was kicking a _tiiiiiny_ fuss too, definitely nothing that would need her attention, but still. Change would come to Gamindustri as all storms did. They would make it out, though. The four of them, the legacies to the former goddess, would succeed in their reign.

And blegh, she was derailing herself.

Anyways, her partner was awesome and nobody would convince her otherwise of that fact. Nope, nope, nope. Her proof to those words? Simple, Neptune only had to do a lil' bit of sleuthing to find her on their off time from Celestia and **boom**.

Instant new discovery on the darker goddess all for her. You could debate the legalities on doing that or whatever, but Purple couldn't find herself caring.

She's never seen Black training. Never in the couple of weeks they've been playing in Celestia. **Never**. So, just imagine just how giddy she was when she came upon the cloud-haired girl's katas.

The border was a prime place for rabbit watching, the sky filling to the brim with large puffy shapes of darkened cotton. It was so bad that Neptune couldn't even see what the color the endless expanse was. Very dreary, almost sad. Seeing her friend, however, always filled her chest up with joy.

Black was standing in a clearing, the trees having parted to make space for her small figure amongst the mass of verdant shades and subtle browns. Her bright white hair acting as a beacon for the sneaking Planeptune child.

It was a _dance_.

Quick and balanced steps followed by precise and merciless swings. She's good, that much Neptune can see from the practice stances, a furious opponent who's blows render through the tension with ease.

To sweeten the deal, the fun-sized goddess can't even recognize the particular style behind it. And Purple, for all her playfulness, knows her strands of sword fighting.

Because in Snowy's hands was a katana. The type escaped her — names weren't really necessary, anyways — but Nep could recognize a katana with her eyes closed. Knowing her buddy used one was the best news she's heard all week.

And she wants to test her metal.

It's just so nice to watch and learn, but exchanging blows is so much better.

Uh huh. Purple was _definitely_ gonna spar against her now, no way that she couldn't do that. Going head to head with people was an **art**.

A way of life and she wanted to share that addicting and rushing experience with Black Heart; that's what friends did, right? They shared stuff with each other. Yeahhh, it took some convincing for her to return the favor, but she wasn't that picky a person. She was getting to her.

Eventually, they'd even exchange _names_! As in mortal names and not the godly names that just everybody knew, wouldn't that be nice?

But first, Nep was gonna keep watching the show play out. It wasn't like her tv shows or manga or video games, there were no words that were spoken. That didn't mean she didn't find it _absolutely fascinating_.

The teal-eyed immortal had experience, obviously; she doesn't quiver as she breathes forward, not like how Neptune was way back then.

Which made her a lil' bit bitter that she didn't know, but this was **Black**.

Purple shouldn't hog all the cool moves and stuff. She'd get better things, anyways, no need for her to get all jealous of Snowy. Not when her friend was so nice and generous and did whatever she asked without grumbling too much about it. A very good friendship in her opinion. And that was exactly what the doctor ordered.

There was just a tiny bit of convincing needed here and there. Secret keeping was fine and stuff, but Neptune wanted to play with her little bunny rabbit. Playing was always better than watching.

She had to be a good match for Purple too, Nep could feel it in her bones — their bouts together were gonna be a _**blast**_. It would be such a fun way to end the day too. Who wouldn't want to break a sweat together with their best friend experiencing one of life's greatest pleasures?

"Purple Heart?"

Oops. Eyes that reflected her very own namesake look up into the burning questions of her partner's very own. A burst of colors swirl in her gaze, pretty blue-greens of a tropical isle glinting with the metal of the blade pointed at her.

"Uhhhh. Hiya? That's a really nice katana you got there, Snowy."

Her face crinkles almost instantly, the coil of tension relaxing just as quickly with Nep's words. "Don't call me that, Purple and don't change the subject."

"Pffft. I wasn't changing the subject. I was greeting you and being polite!" She nods to herself, "You looked really cool."

Black reddens, her gaze pointing at the ground as she mumbles a blink or you'll miss it thank you. Aww, it was just so darn precious!

The protagonist tries to hardest not to coo at the reaction, quickly taking in what her friend was wearing, seeing as she wasn't wearing the usually processor unit. Its color matched her name to a T, a spiffy little long-sleeved eastern shirt thing paired with some pants. And what a particular sorta top it was.

The sleeves were very loose on her, it was the type where you could stuff your arms in the opposite sleeve. Good for movement, though. Plus, there was a cute golden trim around the collar and buttons…

She looked nice in it, very cute.

"Why're you here?" Black asks, face scrunching up in a frown that didn't make her any less adorable.

Here's where Neptune has to decide. Does she tell her friend that she's seen her here before and always tries to sneak a peek or does she lie to her? It wasn't as though Black would be any wiser to whichever excuse she used on her.

Neptune licks her lips, swinging the thought back and forth. "Mm, weeeell, I just wanted to see you today is all. Nothin' major."

Teal blinks at her. "But… how did you know I was—?" Confusion, so much confusion. Yet, not a speck of suspicion enters her gaze; what a _silly_ little rabbit she had.

"Cause, I wanted to know where ya go?" Black was her partner after all. Wasn't it natural for Purple to be protective and wanting to keep a constant eye on her? Then again, it did sound kinda creepy… "Are you mad at me for sneaking peeks at you and not tellin'?"

It'd be reasonable, she wouldn't judge that.

Snowy was touchy in stuff for a reason, yeah, and respecting that was an important part of their relationship. Didn't help that she was being a tiny bit skeevy.

"Mmmh, no." What? What was that supposed to mean, she **wasn't** angry at her? "I'm not mad at you, Purple." Confused violet hesitantly look up to her partner, a soft smile already on her face, no anger in sight. "You weren't gonna do anything and I wasn't doing anything really private anyways. No harm done.. Just, don't go doing this again on me, yeah?"

What a peculiar friend of hers.

A _gullible_ and yet sharp little half of hers, then again that was the joy in meeting her.

Buuut, she was selfish. "What if I wanna look at you then, Snowy?"

Blink, blink. "You…" Red is quick to overwhelm her smile, the telltale sign of embarrassment blooming brightly across pale skin. "O–Only if I can't spot you like this time, mongrel."

Ah, ha! Nep still has it. "Cool, cool!" She bobs her head, tension melting like an ice cream cone in the hot summer sun. "You want some NepBull and pudding, then?" A lil' check in her inventory and a couple bottles and cups were in her arms.

"...Fine, fine." With a sigh, Black's sword vanishes in a shower of particles back in her gate. "I want chocolate."

"Done and done." Neptune says, grinning as the white-haired girl takes a seat beside her. She scoots a bit closer to her, taking pride on how Black doesn't lean away.

All progress was good progress. Being able to snuggle with her without any struggling or complaining on her friend's part was a big, big change from the initial meeting. There was a lot less noise.

Perfect for a nap, but, she glances at the the twisting spiral of grey up above, the immortal decides otherwise. A nice time for a good snooze, just not a good time for _outside_ sleeping.

"You looked really cool doing those katas, ya know that?"

"Really?"

She grins, nodding her head in a manner that definitely meant Nep knew what she was talking about. "Yup, yup. Maybe as cool as me." Which was obvious a spankin' compliment coming from her of all people as a Goddess.

Green-blue blink at her, Black rests her head on her knees. "Thanks, I guess." She looks up at the sky, lips forming a thin line before her eyes close.

"You're not gonna sleep on me, are you? I got you the pudding and everything," Purple pouts, waving the mocha-colored pudding cup in her friend's direction.

The mop of snow shakes slightly, "'m just resting my eyes is all, mongrel."

Ah. So, she was tired then, Neptune thinks, setting down the morsel of deliciousness on the ground. The violet deity pops open a NepBull and takes a quiet sip from the can, not-so subtly watching the light glint off of silvery-white strands.

How many times did Black do this sort of thing? Training alone for what had to be hours was tough work, not to mention all of those fancy-shmancy classes Purple just knew all the Basilicoms were requiring their future ladies to take. Plus, whatever personal training the other nations had in mind.

Her buddy was strong too, capable of carrying Nep around without complaining.. It makes a gal wonder what sort of stuff Lastation was even feeding her.

Hopefully the good kind.

With all the crazy stuff happening in Lastation, Lowee and Leanbox, she hopes that Black was being treated right. This was her _friend_ , she deserved the very **best** and no less.

She'd even sock a dragon in the face for her.

"...Hey, Snowy?" No response, but that wasn't something that deters Nep. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about me sneaking around to see you, you.. mean a lot to me, ya know? And, just between the two of us, you're worth a lot more to me than pudding."

It was actually sorta tough to admit that. Aloud, that is. Thinking how much Black meant to her was a lot easier than saying it. Hah, that's probably why she got so flustered with lil' ol her, if anything, Black had hard time telling the truth.

Not in the chronic liar sense, but just in general, really. The feeling of your heart pounding, the cold sweat forming on your palms and the tightening of your throat was tough to ignore. But doing that wasn't impossible or anything. _Not for her_.

Not for either of them, she smiles, they were two halves of a whole after all. The two of them would shake Gamindustri to its core.

Above them, the sky rumbles as the darkening clouds swirl menacingly, lightning crackles with it, playing a soft melody that only Nature itself was privy to.

Purple scoots over to the unresponsive form beside her, snuggling closer to what had to be the walking heater of the four goddesses. Warm, warm, warm. She has a hand in the fluffy cloud mane, carefully running her fingers through her partner's hair. "I think, I'm gonna," she yawns, "have a couple of Zs too. Good night, Black."

With one final boom, a heavy downfall settles in between the land of two nations.

.

.

Rain bursts from the greyed skies, shadowing the forestry in a haze of clear pearls that come down in torrents. The sounds of the birds and insects are nothing to thrum of near endless droplets.

How fortunate it was for a blanket to curl around the pair, shielding them from the worst of Nature's tears.

Neptune's head rests on Black's shoulders, both of them cocooned by the blanket as the heavens that far surpass Celestia's grace bleed with its sorrows. A wave of white noise, rippling across that patch of valley. The song of life even dims in its presence.

Birds and insects wait in silence, their voices **drowned** by the unstoppable cacophony. They watch and they listen as do the rest of those who have been swallowed by the burgeoning storm.

A curious set of eyes do the same. The owner to said pair absorbing what they can of what was simultaneous chaos and order wrapped up in a misty package. She says nothing, graciously accepting what's become of her once productive day. What even was there for her to comment on? This was fine, it would _pass_.

Unlike the body beside her.

What a stubborn limpet to have stuck to her side. But, it wasn't in her nature to fold easily to surprises, no matter how much they shake her.

Noire lets out a yawn, tugging the mongrel closer to her side; it was hard to remain awake with the symphony being played in front of her, add to that a dreary painting of greys and greens, well, she wasn't going to force herself not to nod off now.

It was quiet now. No wandering eyes watching her every move, no insistent caretakers demanding she perfect a particular move, no playdate offer from her friend, no annoying mortals in sight.

The darker deity was alone now and yet, not at all.

Purple snores softly beside her, a sound that's _impossible_ to ignore with their close proximity, which was Noire's own darn fault. With her rival, and friend, napping on her collarbone, hearing and feeling just how deep asleep the idiot was a cakewalk. An unintentional one at that.

But it was nice, this new form of peace away from the crazy world as a whole — being with Purple was much better than dealing with the rising tensions in Lastation.

Political and economic strife was no place for her girl like her. But, she wasn't just a girl, now was she? Noire wasn't **human** , wasn't mortal and fading; she was a divinity, a member of the CPUs, someone who _had to_ lead.

And there was no room was childishness. At least, that's what they told her. Her hands grip the thick fabric at the thought of her Basilicom.

She had no obligation to listen to them, not when Purple could be so happy and carefree at the same time. Annoying and undefeated Purple.. hah, _was_ Noire being affected by her.

Perhaps, they were hanging out quite a bit, she smiles, looking down at the one that fed these rebellious thoughts of hers.

"Good night, Purple, and thank you for the pudding." Noire whispers.


	7. Maelstrom II

_**Hello, hello! Konductor is finally back with another chapter, sorry about the wait! This one is a lot softer than the first one and it's most in Black's POV too! A little insight to our stubborn Noire and to some of my headcanons for her as well.**_

 _ **I have another chapter in the works, but I'm not entirely pleased with what I have thus far but who knows? I might have it out next month if I survive my wisdom teeth getting taken out.**_

 _ **Hope you all enjoyed it and please tell me what you think!**_

 _ **I'm actually really curious on the chapter placement and I don't want to make things confusing for my readers. Do you prefer continuation chapters to be after the original or in chronological order posting?**_

 _ **Posted: 8/22/19**_

 _ **Edited: N/A**_

* * *

The bed is never empty when she wakes up every morning. She would always feel it; the mattress sinking down by her side, the cocoon of warmth around her, how dark lilac strands mix with snow, the way she is never lonely. A good way to wake up.

Black wouldn't deny that, this is much better than sleeping on random furniture after finishing up with paperwork. Her bed was _optional_ in Lastation. Here in Planeptune, an idiot tugs her under the covers and insists on listening to the beat of her heart as they both sink into slumber. A clever idiot who manages to beat her again, but an idiot, nonetheless.

It has been what? A month or two since her capture by Purple Heart.

She isn't entirely sure of the time. Hours just blurr when her schedule is filled with things to do and with a twin-tailed mongrel to trail behind. Her sense of time is horrific, really. Counting the days didn't exactly matter when one is immortal and all.

Surprising, how easy it was to let the days tick by during periods of normalcy. Kidnapping aside, what had happened is so surreal.

Her neck has even stopped hurting a while ago too. Good, she thinks, fingers feeling the indents of where a certain someone's teeth dug into her flesh, it meant she isn't going crazy. Black has been claimed, or more aptly bitten, in front of Planeptune's own church staff for the sake of a statement.

Not all that shocking, it did get the point across. The violet deity has declared her intents fairly clear, one didn't just appear with an opposing goddess in her arms and not inform your people of the purpose. Pride and embarrassment mean little to the runnings of a nation, after all.

Looking around the bedroom, Black doesn't find herself too thrown off by the change of scenery. It's homier than her own. Personalized and speckled with the energy that sings of her hostess.

Shades of the woman's namesake fill the room. So much more plush and warmth.

A sharp contrast to Noire's own little is monochrome room — or rather _rooms_ , given her ability to sleep wherever necessary — which could never compare to a place like this. The feel of the room practically hugging her.

It isn't bad. She isn't being hurt or abused here or anything. Black supposes that she's too mistrusting to ever accept the hand Purple always took to offering her, no matter how kind.

This is just new and different. As a follower to premade patterns, it's jarring, but not something impossible to handle. The company is nice to have.

Especially so when they weren't so touchy-feely, she internally drawls, drawing her attention back at the fox sleeping beside her. Black is the one with the title of Joker, of Trickster, yet it's the troublesome woman with the moniker of **Warlord** that has planned something like this under her nose. How embarrassing it is, being out tricked.

When didn't the lilac-haired goddess not get the best of her? It's pathetic, really.

What's the score by now? Barely a third of their fights have ended in her victory, the rest — the majority as historians would come to say — were in Purple's favor.

Perhaps, Purple really did earn the Goddess of Victory title. But giving up isn't something Noire just did, now is it?

She goes to run a hand through her bedmate's hair, marveling at the texture and its waves, Noire has to admit that the mongrel is pretty. _So pretty_. Even if they were barely surfing passed the cusps of puberty, Purple never failed to garner awe in her, did she?

That cheeky woman… always wandering in and out of her thoughts.. She wonders, briefly, like most short-lived ideas, if Purple ever thought the same.

Black can never tell the difference, if so. She wasn't raised to see if she was cared for, she was raised to make Lastation prosper even further, she was raised to be a sword and a shield to her fellow immortals, she was raised to fight and fight and fight and **die**.

Ephemeral and transient.

Yet, she has the _weirdest_ inkling that her partner would like to believe otherwise.

That's one consequence to being valued, it seemed. Another new experience among the bunch she's already being introduced to, boy, did Purple love integrating her into the system or what? She gets the point behind the niceties and the bonding, one glaringly obvious solution is in store.

There isn't a lot of hope in her for that solution to truly work, _hypothetically_ it should, but in application… hm, did that matter, though? This is the irritating fool that never stopped chasing her. Perhaps, she could change things as unbelievable as it sounded in her head.

She did mention not hating this situation, right? Because there isn't much to hate. You know, besides the complete and total lack of her control over the situation, of course. Sure, there is some vetoing rights to talk of, but this is Purple Heart.

If everything were up to the idiot, they wouldn't have to leave bed, which didn't sound that bad, but damn it, Black has a _**reputation**_ and schedule to maintain. It is not falling apart because of someone's whims.

And it really shouldn't be any surprise that her bedmate has a long line of whims to be fulfilled. Bargaining for her tablet back is not how she wants to spend the day. Neither is the petting session for said tablet. Well, not entirely, but it's still impeding her.

What sort of reason is ' _spending too much time working_ ' anyways?

That isn't a valid reason to stop her from finishing up a couple dozen reports. The fox is overreacting is all, she takes care of herself just fine.

They were CPUs, immortals, divinities. The concept of dying from exhaustion or improper health care is a hilarious and relatively possible if someone tried hard enough, but she's going to be fine. Her experiments didn't kill her, ergo, nothing less than said experiments would manage to do anything worse. Perfect sense.

A bite couldn't compare. But the gesture is flattering nonetheless, it took a lot of guts to declare a rival goddess belonged to you. To add to that front, according to Lastation's church, nobody knows a thing. Either her people are just that loyal to Purple or she has information in a chokehold.

Both fit her in the end. Which madd denial impossible in the grand scheme of things.

"Blaaack~." Her hand meets flesh.

 _Geh_ , more like the flesh of the idiot beside her goes and nestles against the hand messing with her hair. "Good morning."

Noire kinda doesn't wanna look at her because of the greeting. At the same time, not looking at her would get Purple pouty and extra touchy for the rest of the day and that is worse. "Morning," she mumbles, careful not to look too deeply into her eyes.

The fact that the fox's smile _brightens_ far passed the capacity of the sun should have said a lot on their relationship. Blinding almost, the joy that so easily falls on her features. How her sea-like eyes **lighten** in ways that reflected the color of untouched waters. Too bright, too happy, too loving, too attached, her mind supplies as a head of dark lilac settles in her lap.

This is how affection is shown. Yes, Black knows that very well, but that didn't mean she understands it. She isn't repulsed by the closeness — if that's so, Purple would have given her space and tried another route — the emotion behind it all is just too much. She couldn't relate.

Lastation didn't raise her to experience that.

Black Heart has a _purpose_ and certainly it isn't getting close to her fellow goddesses.

And, unfortunately, the violet patron is aware of her internal discord. "Are you uncomfortable with me doing this?"

She closes her eyes, continuing to run a hand through Purple's hair. "No. Not really." This is **new** is all, she would get used to this method of living just fine. "Nobody's done this for me before."

Purple's face scrunches up, "I don't like hearing that sorta stuff from you, kitten. I should've beaten up your old caretakers for making you all stiff and cold and whatever, it's not fair that you didn't get cuddles and pettings."

"That's just how the dice fell, mongrel." Noire isn't one to cry over spilled milk or spilled blood, her past is just her past. "No need to get worked up, it isn't worth it."

But Purple isn't one to drop a topic that easily. "It isn't fair, though! You are _mine_ now and just the thought of mortals treating you like, like, like you were nothing but a tool for progression ticks me off! And what's worse is you don't mind!"

This is remarkably childish in her opinion.

A temper tantrum of sorts. Then again, maybe this is just an expression of just how this bothered her partner… mmhn, it sounded better as the later to be honest. She'd go with the latter.

If she really thought about it, her childhood was fairly dull. She didn't go outside often, she wasn't allowed to talk to many people, Black Heart just trained and trained and trained until every last bit of said training was ingrained into her being. Very effective, but not morally polite.

Children aren't supposed to be raised that way, experience later told her, that made child soldiers, which are a pain to have to unwire. Smartass organizations always got Stupid ideas and Stupid ideas has her to take in high-maintenance kids capable of killing people, or some sort of specialized skill, because they were _**smartasses**_.

The good news is that they were easy to get along with. They understood her and she them, it made trust much less difficult. Plus, getting rid those who made them soldiers was _cathartic_.

"I said that it was fine. What part of that is so hard to accept?" Oh look, now they're both sounding like whiny teenagers in bed together. Great, just _great_. "Can we just move on?"

"For now," Purple concedes, "The concept of using children isn't for bed talk." Yes, because that is _**exactly**_ what she meant on the subject, absolutely. "What matters most is the two of us."

"Just the egotism of that sentence makes me want to punch you."

The mongrel, unsurprisingly, pouts at that. "I don't mean it in a rude way, just that you matter more than most. Come on, you can't think I'm that obsessed… You are a super hard nut to crack and I had to do something before White or Green thought of another plot."

She instinctively goes to feel the bite mark at the mention of the word obsessed. Before her sanity, _and paranoia_ , clicks back into place. "Please, as if Green knows I've been captured by you. Goddess forbid her even finding out the details to this ever happening, Green might start calling me your sex slave."

A hand goes to grip the one that has been touching her neck. "And I **never** want to hear her name and those two words together in a sentence."

What a possessive counterpart to have.

Though, the imagery _is_ disturbing to a degree. The only person who would fit as the seafoam-haired teen's partner is White and that is not a picture she wants in her head. Not with the tension those two always seem to have.

Then again, White chose to stand beside her taller-yet-younger half. So, most of that is their own damn fault.

Noire just isn't invested in them enough to ponder on that topic anymore, okay?

"Understandable. I'm just… thinking, considering your continuous presence, it's hard to do anything private. I can't even venture to Lastation without you trailing behind me." Cute, but for a limited time before it got aggravating. "And while I can admit that the cover story of the makings of a possible long-term alliance is feasible, you attached to my hip is not."

"But I _like_ your hips." The only true response to that is a flick to the forehead. Honestly, saying such embarrassing things when the topic is supposed to be _**serious**_ … "Ouch! Don't hit your lovable partner, little Black." Another flick. "I'm not gonna stop calling you that!"

Noire grits her teeth. "You've been referring to me as such with your subordinates. It's mortifying to know that people know you have those nicknames for me."

Purple pouts again, completely engrossed in proving herself. "You are cute and the world outside of Planeptune needs to know it!"

"It's embarrassing, what the hell can't you comprehend?!"

They spend the rest of the morning arguing with each other. Their shouting bringing rueful smiles upon whoever heard, with the staff presuming their Lady is playing with her red-faced half. And the staff weren't wrong to assume such a thing. Because even amongst the arguing, one could note Black had never stopped playing with Purple's hair.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Dealing with Purple when stuck in Planeptune isn't hard. Daily life in the nation of progress is simply Celestia _without_ the death threats and a lot more physical affection than she's used to.

The number of times she jumped at the familiar pair of arms wrapping around her waist is near endless. How did you get used to that?

Purple always accompanied her during meal time too, insisting that Black eat instead of putting it off for later when she's actually hungry. She knew she shouldn't be doing that. But, did the mongrel really need to have to go with her every time?

Then came the spoon feeding. The **literal** spoon feeding that Purple just loves doing for her, treating her with food constantly.

The list could go on, really; it just never ended with her.

How she is never alone in bed, never lacks that seamlessly comfortable presence by her side, never worries about watching her back. Noire is being _pampered_. Pampered and always has the fool beside her, regardless of whatever protests she came up with. There is no stopping Purple.

Her idiotically soothing, two-faced rival who would drop everything in a heartbeat if Black ever has the courage to ask for her. Not that she ever would. She'd been taking advantage of Purple enough now.

All of this is just throwing her off.

Noire could never win with that woman around, could she? Not when Purple is being so considerate — and maybe perhaps _too_ caring — for her sake, failing even to attempt another tension filled eternity that happened in Celestia before. It's wholesome, pure and utterly wholesome compared to the promises the Warlord has whispered into her ear before.

And then there's Purple limiting her time to work too.

Even when she's using her office, even now of all times, the lilac-haired woman remains by her side just to remind her when to stop

Something about how six hours of flipping through pages and pages of paperwork and signing them all is too much a task for even a goddess to undertake alone. A thing she is **very** much capable of, her partner's insistences be damned. Skipping on her job wouldn't do after all.

She is the patron of a nation of people; responsibility is a necessity. A little work isn't going to kill her after all, it'd probably be someone else's blade that did that job.

Not that Noire's going to tell her hostess. Black shivers at the thought; Purple, who continued to coo and coddle her, finding out about her thought process is one thing she hoped would never occur in this world of theirs.

How very _unlikely_ , knowing her luck.

Nails tap at the desk as her other hand runs through silvery locks in a familiar frustration.

Her mind isn't the most positive of things, which is why she has so many plans — trust _**isn't**_ luxury she could afford, not with her paranoia. An annoying double-edged sword Noire would admit to having. Teal orbs flicker over to the mongrel in question, soft and clear skin practically _glowing_ in the sunlight by the window.

Purple's napping on the couch, a little part of the day she loved to do if the peaceful and all too heart twisting look on her face meant anything to Black.

Dark lilac strands are casually spread across the plush cushions, curtaining an expertly sculpted face.

A far cry from Celestia.

She looks back to the papers, a sense of knowing have already settling in her heart. But then again, Noire is different there too. Sharper, unyielding, harsher, brutal and uncaring, a good goddess.

Not that a good goddess equated to a good person. Noire knew better than that, of course she did; after all, duty didn't excuse what they've done over the years.

The light taps against hardwood help to soothe Black. Along with the admittedly cute snores from by the window, they're a cold compress to her soul, shaking her out of the **numbness** the paperwork manages seems to yank her in.

"Happy thoughts," Black reminds herself, tussling up her hair to its more chaotic form. "Think happy thoughts."

It wouldn't do to wake Purple up because of this.

That woman has her hands full with the minor political situation her whole public claiming has stirred up. Purple _deserves_ a rest.

This is least she could do, Noire thinks, putting pen back onto paper.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Dance with me?"

Black blinks at the hand being held out to her, teal irises flickering up to the owner. The smiling Purple Heart is wearing a modest dress with a sea of ruffles — one that she'd normally refuse — only accentuating the young woman's natural beauty.

Funny, how just seeing her wear that made her feel like a _lesser_ being all together. Though, this is the fox she's looking at.

She should've expected being wowed like this. Planeptune goes all out with their shows of progress, never falling behind among the four nations. Its leader would be no different, of course. Or maybe that's just the **bitterness** in her acting up again?

Stuck in a simple suit of black and silver, there is nothing that stood out the way Purple did. But the mongrel has always been _exceptional_ , hasn't she? It is understandable and Black could respect that.

Demanding she wear a suit for this activity aside, she still takes the fox's offer.

Simply seeing the sheer _joy_ blossom on her face at the gesture gives her a good enough idea on just how much this mattered. Meaning, no, Black couldn't just try to hide away now that she found that little morsel of information. She's uncertain on her positioning, not cruel. Dancing with her couldn't be that bad…

Because for all intents and purposes, there's no denying that the patron of Planeptune could be gentle with her, could be kind to her. Purple could be childish, cruel and utterly brutal, but that certainly didn't **define** her.

The same way Black Heart's own perfectionism didn't reflect her own self either. But, the woman in front of her probably knows that already.

"Of course," she says, cautious gripping a hold of the hand.

It's sort of funny, now that Noire thinks about it.

The one dressed in the suit, the masculine role, being lead by the one wearing the dress, the feminine role, but she isn't one for titles and conceptions in the first place, now is she? That would mean bending to whatever man thought it proper to order her around and that isn't right either.

A goddess has no superiors. She is of the divine and the only one who has the right to even attempt to push her around are the other PCUs. The mongrel being the closest out of any of them to thar.

Purple grins, smoothly pulling her onto the ballroom floor with a swish of violet cloth. "I've always heard of the soirees Lastation holds, the regality's dark horse being such a _**charming**_ partner when she feels the want."

She swallows. "Those," are only rumors, Noire wants to say. Wants to insist, really, in a **futile** attempt to discourage her rival from prodding any further into the rabbit hole.

 _How_ does she know about Black's outings? About the parties?

Is there a hole in security? "Those weren't something one would normally ask me about, mongrel. Nor do they concern the likes of Planeptune." It's a private affair for a reason, not even her Basilicom members know what their Lady did alone.

And Noire would like to be it as such.

A hand slides to her waist as the **vixen** of a woman tugs her closer, lips pressing up against her ear with an all too playful whisper. "They concern me or am I not your half, little Black?" They spin together, uncaring to the echoing silence of the room. "I am _yours_ and you are _mine_ , is that not how this arrangement is set between us?"

"I wish to share everything with you, do you not wish the same?"

 **Everything** is a big word. A heavy word with connotations that makes her head spin the longer she thinks about it.

Black is fine here, there's nothing wrong with a place as personal and soothingly warm as Planeptune. The Basilicom members, civilians and even its goddess are kind.

But she is hesitating again, holding herself back. Too cautious, too mistrusting, too skittish to accept what is offered to her.

Moving in tandem with Purple, listening to ever constant thump of her heart is easy as breathing. Making choices for _herself_ , however? Being herself without anything to offer is a trying thing.

Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale. Her heart stutters as Noire comes to grip the violet fabric, trying to speak. "I.. I'm not.. used to sharing? I'm not even sure what I'm doing with you, Purple, this doesn't– this doesn't make sense to me."

You don't make sense to me, she doesn't say.

 _ **Goddess**_ , is that embarrassing to admit. She still has her pride, damnit, no matter how uncertain things have become.

"I wonder," the twin-tailed divinity pulls her into a twirl, "Are you even aware of how _deeply_ I feel?"

"O–Of course, I am! I'm, I'm not blind; I know you well enough for that."

That doesn't kill her fear, though. It doesn't drown the hesitation and the inklings of treachery that stood in the background. This is complicated, isn't it? They're supposed to be enemies and now Purple is openly admitting her desire for Black, it's surreal — _how is she meant to respond_?

This is about attraction. An indescribable pull that is already and has been affecting them ever since their first meeting in Celestia.

She's **enchanted** by the infuriating woman, the fool that's gradually ensnaring her heart.

But there is always doubt. The whispers that push her forward for Lastation's sake and Lastation's sake alone are digging knives into her skin now. Mocking her, warning her, urging her of what's to come.

Black doesn't know what to do. She means it when she believed there could be more with them, more than a mere pragmatic alliance and shared strength, that Purple — who could go from a Warlord to a concerned lover — is being truthful.

Cerulean peers into teal, a pout pulling at her lips as she contemplates her words. "Then, what must I do to convince you?" None of that absolution burns in her gaze, only the soft and ever present _concern_ in the sea-like pair.

She looks away, stepping backwards with the unspoken beat between them. But with Purple's hand keeping a hold of one of her own, well, the darker deity knows escape is **impossible**.

They are connected, always has been and always will be. Trying to run would do her no good, anyways — the fool would follow her in the end, the same way Black is with Purple. There really is no winning here. No _victory_ for her, not that there would ever truly be one when it comes to Purple Heart.

If that's the case, then it's best to make the most of it, no?

"Everything then."

Blink. Blink. Blink. Purple stills at her thoughtless admission as Noire looks at their feet, her face flushing from blurting an answer like that out.

Everything, she's said, _**everything**_.

Did… did that sound greedy? The immortal really couldn't tell, she really didn't know what to say to the woman question. There's no familiar script to read and respond to. Just the blissfully quiet beats of two hearts as one and herself _fumbling_ to react.

But, Black doesn't want to be a burden, that much she knew very clear. And isn't she already eating away at her partner's time and energy with this?

This is the thing she despises getting into, feelings are such a pain.

And the fox's persistence is convincing, too.

Still, she resists. Bending to Purple's whispers and promises is tempting thing, yes, this dance of theirs having long since passed the point of being a mere _amusement_ for the Warlord's gaze. A life like this is of no pet, either. That warmth is palpable now, right under her fingertips and thrumming with the ichor in the fool's veins. This place feels like home.

Like a **home** , Noire mentally corrects herself, keeping her focus on her footwork. The only place that even comes close to fitting these standards is her Basilicom.

Did Planeptune really have the criteria?

Before her mind wanders any further, a pair of lips press against her forehead, body **slamming** every meaningless thought out the window as her brain fizzles out. Purple giggles at what has to be the dumbfounded look on her face.

"You have always had a way with your words, though, I suppose it is fitting for the one graced with the title of Silver Tongue." The strongest of the four hums, cerulean preening as she whispers in her ear. "You desire _**everything**_ I have to offer? Then I wish for the same from _you_."

.

.

.

Leading after that retort is a great deal easier with her captive too stunned to stop her. They're closer now, in an curling embrace as she continues to utter sweet promises in the red-faced Black Heart's ear.

"I shall be _yours_ and you will be _mine_. I intend to accept every bit of you, each scar and imperfection you believe yourself to possess, all of it I want."

No matter what inadequacy burns in her mind, Neptune would continue to want her. She's waited this for so long and her dream is so close to being achieved at last.

She's willing to wait again, if necessary.

Black wouldn't leave now, though. Oh, there's no denying her rival would try to flee at what she just said, but it wouldn't happen. Not when Neptune has finally acquired an answer from her. _**Everything**_. If the white-haired CPU wants that from her, she would gladly give Black everything.

They are _equals_ , even if Purple fixates on Black on being at her feet at times. She's the only one worthy of standing beside her, not White or Green; her cynical and mistrusting half deserves only the best, deserves so much more than what she has.

Life has given her adorable partner such a cruel fate, but that matters little with her here.

She's not going to lie that her intentions are anything close to being pure. Purple wants Black in so many ways, but she wants the best for her too.

Neptune breathes in the soft scent of ink and roses, swaying in place. "I only want for you to be happy. Does that frighten you?"

It does. She didn't need confirmation for that when she's already seen enough. But, hearing Black's acknowledgement meant that she's aware and does give a damn on what is the biggest obstacle in their way.

The mop of silvery snow nods into her, hiding her face in her chest.

Her stubborn and _fragile_ little Black.

"You worry me, you do realize? Pushing yourself to the very edge of functionality and arriving in Celestia with wounds that were not even fully healed… never do you stop and ponder on why I retaliate the way I do whenever I see you in such a state?"

If there's one thing Neptune **hates** the most, it's the sight of Black Heart, her little kitten, injured in ways that she shouldn't have been.

Why is the one constant in her live her rival being hurt?

* * *

 _ **Zenir: Really sorry for the wait then! But I'm glad to hear you hold my writing in such high regard! It great encouragement to keep at this, I hope I'll see what you think of this one!**_

 _ **Eins: I'm glad to see your curious about Divided, but don't worry, you'll get your answers. At the core it is Black and Purple, only with their experiences changing. So, I do try to keep their hearts the same in the end. A**_ _ **bit of variety is always nice when it comes to nicknames, especially when Black is involved. Thanks for reading, I really enjoy reading your comments.**_

 _ **Rpbautis: It's tough to be professional when you're a kid after all, though this is much cuter, wouldn't you say? And sorry about the chapter confusion!**_

 _ **Omega Heart Chan: I'm glad you like it! Tell me what you think about this one?**_

 _ **TSolarus: I'm not exactly the type to right cute and warm fluff, but I'll do my best to provide more of them as kids since you like it so much!**_

 _ **Zui Zui Chan: Those two are always a fun combination, aren't they?**_

 _ **Shiena: Glad to hear that!**_


	8. Impact I

_**Hello, hello! Konductor is back once again with a new story! This, and a few others, really digs into 'what if' scenarios that Nep and company get into. More specifically, this one is based during the Console War where instead of Purple being kicked off, it was Black.**_

 ** _Of course, this does have a few of my own twists to it, but I intend for things to follow Rebirth 1 somewhat. It isn't exactly the happiest piece around, but the emotions it carries is heavy._**

 ** _Betrayal tends to do that._**

 _ **But do not fret! Things gradually get better. Though, our dear pair will have to fight for that. 'What if' scenarios are bread to my butter and I have quite a few in store for you all; I hope you're looking forward to them.**_

 _ **Anywho, this isn't exactly edited. So, apologies in advance, I wanted to have this out for you all and will be touching up on it later.**_

 _ **Thank you for reading and please tell me what you think of Impact!**_

 _ **Posted: 9/16/19**_

 _ **Edited: N/A**_

* * *

She failed.

" _Out of the four of us, who is it that weighs the heaviest in terms of threat?"_

Failed. Lost. Crumbled in the face of adversity. Her of all beings in this Goddess awful world. Parts of her wants to cry, strangle themselves and choke on the tears, drown in her weakness.

Weak. Weak. Weak. The word hammers into her mind with finality rippling through her wounded frame. She's pathetic, unable to last against some half-hearted alliance. What is she going to tell her Basilicom, to that of her second in command?

" _Who do you would admit to being threatened of, hedonist? I'm sure as hell surprised to hear you talk about threats."_

Wind howls in her ears.

Screaming as the elements caressing that worthless prison of flesh and broken bone tries to slow her. Swords falling as a storm sings with the descent. The rush is almost freeing. Free falling to death and yet freedom's what she first thought of. Ha, what an utterly bizarre being she is.

" _What is that implying? I merely speak the facts. This… farce of ours is going nowhere. How long have we spent our time coming back here again and again?"_

" _Oh shut up! Like you have room to talk!"_

She doesn't dare open those eyes of hers, though. The scenery of what had to be their side of the world must be a breathtaking view. But she, she does not want to take that hint of a chance. All that matters are the blades dancing as they near her.

Survival, the will to live is a funny thing. Once sparks, it would take millennia for such a dangerous beacon to flicker out. She knows better than just that, though.

" _You're complaining of returning to Celestia? Really? How pitiful. Shall we grant you a pity party, heron? We will make it quick and painless if you wish. You were the one to insist on this after all."_

What a weak soul she is.

To so quickly have that flame snuffed out. One waste amongst wastes, another span of time useless in the grand scheme of things. She chose this, however, no one in the world is worth this choice. Not even the mongrel.

There's no one in the world who would ever remain by her side now after all. Nobody ever chooses her.

Few do that. Few see behind her masks and pushed past the walls that encased her form, but none of them are like her. None of them immortal or capable of staying. None of them are the trio of CPUs who were created with her and chose her to die by their hand, of course not. Those three don't care for her, none of them did.

" _Speak. Before I tire of this interruption."_

" _Ahh. Looks like she spoke, hurry it up then. We mustn't keep our dear leader waiting."_

Danger entrenches many corners of the realm and here she is.

Giving up. Thoughts came to her almost automatically as scenarios floods her mind. None of them are ever comforting. Not like the weapons she made.

They resemble her dreams, or rather nightmares that sit by the fading light. Hungry, howling as they always do. Reality is a meal her waxing and waning haunts are screaming for. Images of washing in and out of a blood moon's fervent gaze.

" _Way too into this, Fluffy. But whatever, she's right. Speak up or shut up."_

" _This so-called war has gone on long enough, wouldn't you say? The solution is an obvious one."_

Falling.

Falling.

Falling.

She wouldn't die from this.

The number of times death has truly neared her could be counted on her hand. This? This is nothing compared to others. Jumping from Celestia is a cakewalk compared to everything else. The hum of steel comforting her as she sinks further and further.

" _Then spit your damn answer out already! Stop trying to control the conversation. You're complete shit at it, you know that, Greenie?"_

Her? Die to a fall? Die to being attacked three to one? Die to those two pawns in a much bigger game? They could only wish.

Only one would ever have the honor of ridding her of this damnable world. A single goddess would be the one to end her life, she would expect no less. Everything would be burning before they would ever get the chance to kill her.

" _Yes, yes. What she said, hurry up and get to the point before our dear leader really decides to rid of herself of this particular farce. It isn't getting any extra points in this, heron."_

" _Hmph."_

It feels nice.

Plummeting through the great blue expanse with a storm of silver is less chaotic than it has previously thought to be. Flying dominates her skies; there is no plunging through damp clouds either. It doesn't hurt as much as she thought it would.

Her expectations are being killed again and again today. How disappointing.

" _Stop referring to me as a bird!"_

First is the mongrel in question. Unable to stand, lost in the fogs of uncertainty, wandering with that fake resolve. Anything but the image that was made in the beginning. What stood before her then was not the deity who she met as children. What stood before her was a parody of that person.

An infuriating truth she had been confronted with. Her rival has let herself crack. The strongest going with such a half-baked plan…

" _The crowing doesn't help your case."_

" _So even you side with her, Purple? Fine. I will say it. I propose we cut the competition to three in order to end this stalemate."_

Second was what happened next. And, while it only made logical sense to do it, a part of her is still furious that she got picked. Black being picked? They were going to try to take her out of the competition? Her out of all four of them?

For the other half of the four, she feels nothing. There isn't a sense of connection or genuine care. All that settles in her chest is the smoldering sensation of hate. The emotion is palpable, to be chosen and abandoned again. It was like the world is asking for a reason to be destroyed. Another die has been cast against her favor and what misfortune she possesses.

" _Looks like you're the odd one out this time around, Black. Anything you have to say? Perhaps, an apology? Or even a plea for mercy? Are you going to beg for your life?"_

" _No hard feelings, Fluffy. Thunder Tits here is right. You've been a pain in the ass for too long."_

Third is that she cares about the events that took place.

That she physically aches when they made their decision to kill her off. The utter rationale behind the choice grinding at her gears, the nerve of those three to so effortlessly throw away the fledgling bonds they made as children. Why did she care about those fools who are so eager to betray each other?

It stings.

It's carved into her flesh and left to rot.

" _I really am disappointed, Purple."_

She wants to make them hurt just as much; equivalent exchange at its finest.

Dropping to her death is nothing, dying wouldn't really kill her. She'll be back. She wants to see their faces twist in agony for that moment. She would be happy this once, even without her.

" _Prepare yourself, Black."_

Happiness is a foreign concept nowadays. Especially now that all expectations of her fellow immortals are failing her. Feeling numb is better than having your heart ripped out, no? It's so easy to be disillusioned by all of it than it is to love and be loved.

Simpler to be a stone-cold ruler and murderer than to be kind-hearted and caring. So much easier to burn what she has in hand. She wants to see that image. She wants to brand their pain in her mind.

" _An eye for an eye. A tooth for a tooth. Do you three really think you'll get out of this unscathed? How confident. It'd be a shame, if you all suddenly lost that fire of yours."_

There's a price to be paid for every action. Literally zip is free in life and she accepts that wholeheartedly. For when those three were to cut her down, the retaliation would be twice… no, no, thrice as deadly. But she wouldn't kill them. Death would be a mercy for them, they wouldn't die by her hand.

" _Enough with the fucking mind games, Black. Minute's up, time to face the music."_

" _You really mustn't worry too much. So long as you keep this short and sweet, I will keep the finishing blow relatively painless. Perhaps even reference you in the history books."_

The pit inside of her hungers. Ravenous and hollow as always, it would not simply be eliminated by some imperfect method of killing. Aching for a proper end, starving for a flickering truth, bleeding for a chance. If she is to die, it would be a worthy death, not something as hapless as being ganged up upon.

They would be receiving their just desserts, that she swears. Their crackpot game failed. And for their failure, she would ensure their punishment would be delivered by the tenfold. Her very being would not accept anything less than total retribution.

" _It's over, Fluffy. There are no more tricks up your sleeve. Face it, we won."_

" _Sigh. You never cease to be a thorn at our sides, do you Black? I must applaud you for lasting this long, however."_

" _I suppose this will be the last time, Black."_

The hate would drown her sorrows. The hate would drown grief. The hate would drown the betrayal. The hate would drown the heartbreak.

She would be fine. This wouldn't hold her back, she wouldn't let these idiots tear her down her. She would recover from this and it would be alright. A single failure wouldn't define her. One chance scored as multiple futures, impossibilities were a silly concept.

" _I… Refuse to die.. To you two."_

In some ways, she never really lived. Fragments always scavenging and searching, never honestly breathing without a cost. Why would she ever let anyone end what was hers before its time? It isn't fair, it isn't fair, she wanted to insist. But the world cares not for that and, in turn, she would react in kind. Why should she accept her fate?

" _Huh? What in the flying fuck is she doing?! Greenie, hurry up and stop her!"_

" _This truly does show your stubbornness here and now, does it not, Black? Nevertheless, it's time for a joker like you to perish."_

She's no one's pawn.

She was born as a deity, a patron, a goddess.

She has torn her fate from the world's grasp once, who is to say she couldn't do it again?

'Obey your elders, do what you're told, die when it's time.' Who the hell has the right to order her around? Black has no master, she has no chains binding her to this half-hearted death, she has no need to ever be subservient to any being!

" _Black…"_

Even if that weak-willed justice fails her, she would get what she richly deserves.

If her soul is torn to shreds, her body would stand up and convey what's right. If her nation decides to betray her too, she wouldn't hesitate to make it burn along with the others.

" _Damocles."_

The swords reach their target.

Merciless and just as hungry as their creator, she did not flinch when they dig into her.

Her eyes remain closed, merely feeling the loose and cold sensation of exhaustion slipping into her. Or, perhaps that's her blades? Ahh, did it even matter? The wetness of grief and defeat are all that she's been feeling anyways.

' _I love you. I love you. I love y—!'_

But the one thing the goddess mourns the most of this damn situation is the unmistakable fact that the mongrel had without a doubt rejected her this time.

It's sensation is there, already having settled in her chest.

The unchanging pool of hatred simmering below the surface. She's been rejected and that accursed warmth is blending with the contradictory chants for blood. The next time they met, the next time teal met her cerulean gaze… she would strike her down, just as promised. This time Black wouldn't be so easily fooled.

' _I hate you. I hate you. I hate y—!'_

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The floor is probably going to be worn through after this, the immortal thinks as she paces back and forth. Her eyes linger on the door leading to her chambers, where the Basilicom physician and the girl she found resides.

Worry gnaws at her, her mind still hammering that one topic.

A feeling that has not been felt in quite some time, it's a wonder Purple could recognize it. Things… things are different, much different. The sun that once burned in her sky, blazing and infinitely bright has vanished and by her hand nonetheless.

The wounds from yesterday? The day before that? The patron honestly couldn't remember anymore. The wounds are still burning, though.

They, unlike the many injuries inflicted during the Console War, refuse to properly heal. Remaining agitated and as if received during that hour. Everything from her hurts more than ever before, the stabbing pain never fading. Fitting for the results of a last stand, one that dangerously paints her rival's trickery.

Her rival. Just the reference of Black… it makes her tongue feel heavy and bitter. A weight is back on her chest, much different than the scarves that wrap around her person. She wants to feel something, anything other than that sense of guilt.

" _I really am disappointed, Purple." She said, teal gaze steadily darkening as her form tensed. A fire at slow burn, gradually growing in strength and intensity of the emotion._

The memory of it is enough to cause goosebumps.

There's a side of her that sort of wants to crumple up in a ball and hide away in her room after what she aided in. She feels wrong. A goddess has to make sacrifices for their people and wasn't Black a sacrifice for peace? Isn't that a truth in this world?

Cold, empty laughter wants to bubble up in her chest.

Her mouth tastes like lead.

A sacrifice, the white-haired ruler was not a mere thing to be carelessly tossed aside. The person she knew in Celestia was better than that. She didn't warrant the treatment to be titled a mere steppingstone for the pathways of the future. Her mind rocks around in her skull as it sinks in piece by piece.

There's no way Purple would be able to move forward if she kept recalling her. Black was gone after all. Even if there was a smidge of a chance that she had survived that final blow the three of them delivered… no, it wasn't possible.

Hoping the woman had endured such a heavy assault after being unfairly overwhelmed is cruel. Returning the favor for their underhanded play had to have taken up what remained of her strength.. so, she couldn't be alive.

As much as the patron hated to admit it, she helped kill her.

Together with that dishonorable Green and White Heart, they struck their fourth down from the heavens.

Pitiful, she knows, to team up with each other and decide on eliminating her rival without a second of hesitation. It was for the best, she tells herself, lies to herself.

But, to say that it was an easy battle would be a lie.

Despite it being a one sided battle till the end, the teal-eyed CPU refused to bow.

A cornered animal is a brutal pragmatic and it fit her to a T. Insolent at times, but when one demanded something of Black, she delivered. Because that was her, unyielding and unbending to all that wanted to tear her down. True and utter determination brought to life.

Even with death hanging above, her half, her rival fought. Defiant to dying, defiant to fate, defiant to Purple herself. The fact that her eyes glared with such scorn burned.

Forgiveness was never an aspect of the white-haired woman's.

Rumors and whatever poultry backstabs that occurred proved that for certain. But to have that uncanny gaze ignite with unadulterated hatred was different. There was no doubt that Black despised her in those final moments.

It was betrayal after all. The goddess spat on her own ideals, her own honor and for what end?

For the sake of her self-preservation?

For the sake of surviving a war she had lost interest in?

For the sake of killing of her own, dear other half?

It was the antithesis to her entire image, her entire being! She, whom so many loyal subjects look up to and adore for her untouchable morals, dishonored her very self.

" _I really am disappointed, Purple." Frigid, dismissive, abysmal, vehement, let down. All those things smoldering in her stare. Impassioned and furious, yet glacial and tranquil. None of them good. None of them like before. None of them close to right._

Violet tails dance as she shakes her head to rid herself of the image.

No, she could not linger on those thoughts any longer. As much as the ruler wants to waste away because of her actions, the girl she found takes precedence.

The girl whose life was hanging by a mere thread when Purple had discovered her in the woodlands. Lost, alone, abandoned.

Just like her.

She sucks in a breath at idiosyncrasies of her mind. Goddess above, it's always going to be Black that her mind flies back to, isn't it? How could it not when the parallels are too close, too real to be false?

The patron wants her rival to have lived, but that's a farfetched needle buried beneath a mountain of a haystack. It would be too cruel to force that responsibility onto some mortal she found.

Desperation is both good and bad here, her heart twists as thoughts wander. What if, what if, what if, this girl is truly her? Her Black?

Apathy is hard to maintain with that as a constant.

This nameless human whom Purple had found broken and bleeding in the wilderness is no one special. They offer nothing of worth to the grand scheme of things. A child — at least, when comparing the several millennia to what has to be a decade or two — who has no home nor purpose lacked any value.

But honor demands differently.

Her morals and karma roars for her to tip the scales she so carelessly helped knock aside. The immortal isn't sure what sort of spirit gave her the chance of saving this girl from death's cold, unspeakable grasp.. she would, however, swallow those doubts and try to repent, somehow.

It's a sad scene to witness. The mortal was so pale when cerulean fell on her.

Droplets upon droplets were eagerly caressing whitening skin, splashing and dyeing the forest floor red. Hair, a beautiful color reminiscent of her name, fanned wildly across its cool, moist dirt surface. Injuries happily patterning whatever visible wasn't covered by a smartly picked dress. The woods around the girl had cushioned her, branches and trees bending in natural ways to soft what must be a deathly end.

She was close to losing what short-lived life she has.

Recalling it later, Purple would say it's as if she had found an angel that had fallen from heaven. There was no pity. Only a sense of shock that quickly faded into panic when she noticed how the new thread in front of her began to fray.

Lives are precious things, she knows.

They come and they go, but they have meaning and to witness the pulsing, throbbing string dull and go limp is always a tragedy. To leave her there to lie would be furthering her failure to maintain her honor. Indeed, she has taken the lives of those beyond the realms of mercy, but never left someone out to die.

Reality is such a cruel place to reside. Thinking of abandoning a citizen alone in the monster-filled wilderness, however? It's unlike her to even touch the concept of that. Has her indifference from the Console Wars really burrowed this deep in herself?

She has a better code of ethics than to ever wish that on any human being. The immortal didn't get a good look on her injuries, there was so much blood.

Dire was the only suitable description for the situation. No other words fit that stomach dropping sensation when Purple held her and only felt cold, sticky wetness on her hands.

Someone had been bleeding out in her arms. Life blood gradually being absorbed into the earth. An innocent wasting away. And that was enough for her to fly back to her church as fast as possible.

Windswept was probably the nicest thing that could be said about her when they arrived.

Apparently, there were about five liters of blood traveling through the human body and a third of that amount was already gone.

Knowing that was never something she needed, it was horrifying to have the girl taken away and hearing that come out of someone's mouth. Death was practically stalking her impromptu guest and the patron was clueless.

The raven-haired girl was lucky, her people told her, to be found and having this immediate medical care. A wealth of information she never found need to learn is gracefully handed to her when Purple demands answers. She is her responsibility, after all. She would be taken to the Basilicom and would recover there.

No one questions her decision.

But it had taken the remainder of the day to safely release her guest from Medical.

A patch job, the physician later explained, the patient had yet to fully heal from the wounds that caused the bleeding to begin with.

The string, while still close to breaking, was still whole.

Purple could handle that.

Taking care of others is a new experience, but she could do it with enough help.

Medical — while demanding after hearing her request was politely going along with it — provides her with a sizable amount of aid for this occasion. They are her loyal subjects, through and through. She would have majority of contact, however.

This is her responsibility now, their protests are nothing, she could handle this. Besides, the other three nations are quiet with the sudden shift in power.

Lastation, most of all, is silent.

The once dark and daunting nation has failed to stop productivity, however. Shares for them continue to be the highest amongst the four. An interesting development overall, to be able to maintain order without their CPU on the helm.

If anything, those who are probably running the show was their Basilicom.

A curious character called Chhaya was manning the majority of the work as Black Heart recovers, said the current news in the eastern part of the continent.

Perhaps, that declaration was a lie? No, it had to be. Hoping for otherwise meant trouble, her rival is not one to ignore the score between them. If she is alive and merely taking the time to rest, Black would be seething for bloodshed. Revenge was a concept that almost defines her.

So that has to be false. The ruler of that region of their world is dead and gone. It had required three goddesses to do the deed, but she has to be.

If not.. if not, then Purple has stained her honor for nothing but worthless betrayal.

She shoves her bloody contemplations aside as the door opens.

The physician, a near-elderly man with greying brown hair and glasses, walks out. He's a noteworthy doctor, being the one who stayed with Medical from when he was a mere student. His drained yet confident voice wipes away most of her worries while giving birth to even more.

"Good news, my lady. She is responding to the treatment along with the blood transfusion positively. You are blessed to have found someone in need of AB, being a universal receiver let the process move along smoothly. Type O would have made the chances of recuperating dip drastically in the beginning." He stops there, taking a breath to mull over his words.

"And although you are lucky to have her status improving, I did notice several concerns." The practitioner stills at her sharply inhaling.

Possibilities are endless when it came to health, she mentally gripes.

"What would be the problem?" Why did mortals have to be this way? He says it's good news and then proceeds to pull the carpet from below her. Goddess, why did she care so much?

It doesn't make any sense. This girl, this child is no one and yet… and yet, Purple is persistent to help her.

What was this?

Repentance?

Saving a life that fell into her arms after morallessly ending another?

What she's doing isn't comforting, though, in a way it made the guilt worse. How many other people had shared such a fate and are left unnoticed because she was playing an endless game in Celestia?

"I really am disappointed, Purple."

She wants to choke on the air she breathes.

Oh no, there isn't a chance in hell the ruler is going to get over Black's death if her voice continues to play on repeat in her mind. Her chest tightens at the memory that shoves its way to the forefront of her mind.

Tousled, messy hair having fallen to the ground with its owner, normally pale skin bruised and bleeding by her hand, bright eyes now the color of darkness. The patron steels her expression, internally fighting to urge to scream. It's just a memory, it is just a memory. Her partner is dead and gone and would forever haunt her.

He wipes his glasses, "There are quite a few wounds on her from before this incident. Several lacerations that have long since healed over, as well numerous types of burns along her body. I would say she shows signs of abuse, but mentally there isn't much to show on that. Out of many of my patients, she possesses quite the resilience. I would not be surprised that in a few weeks or months, she will be up and running once more. However, that is when the good news ends."

The immortal frowns at that. She didn't believe any of that was anywhere close to good, except maybe for the chance that the girl will be able to walk after a time.

"The bad news is that she has retrograde amnesia." He continues, as he takes a second to peer out of a window, fiddling with the cuffs of his shirt. Guilt is clear on his face.

"There is no doubt in my mind that was caused by her recent injuries. Her head doesn't seem to show any swelling nor any visible wound, however, so I took the possibilities of trauma to her head out."

Yes, that's reasonable. "I asked her the usual set of questions to see if she may know of her current situation, but all she has returned is minimal. From what I gathered, your guest is… unhappy with her current position and will be hostile to you, despite your kindness."

Holding back from the compulsion to mess with her hair, Purple nods. "I can handle that. In the end, she is just a mortal, no? An injured girl in desperate need of recovery. Her, along with my workload shouldn't be too straining."

The physician turns to her, fighting a sigh. "Unfortunately, she's rather stubborn. When the guest woke up, she immediately insisted on getting up from her bed and took to arguing with me until sedated her. She nearly tore out her stitches, my lady, dealing with her will be cause some incidents. I do not suggest you go through with your plan," he whispers.

"I will not change my mind, doctor. I found her, therefore she is my responsibility and I intend to hold on it. Your words will not alter my decision." The violet deity declares, garnering a knowing chuckle from the man.

"What else did you manage to gather from her? Age? Nationality and affiliation? Name?"

Anything like that would help her take care of this girl. She's sort of dreading the first meeting with this stubborn little mortal.

He shakes his head negatively. "I gained little from my talks. Other than her apparent self-hatred for nearly dying and her want to go outside, I got those and nothing more." That's an interesting little tidbit of information there. Now why would her little raven be hating herself over that?

Purple hates herself for failing to live up to her ideals… so why would the unknown she found feel a similar way without a memory?

Or did the emotions from before her memory loss settle in and cause it?

She didn't know a thing about amnesia, really.

The most she knows about injuries come from her brief leaves from Celestia when the violet immortal had to lick her wounds. It was a mystery that the ruler was going to bother with this, but her heart demands she take charge for once.

Maybe, this could help.

Especially after her recent failure to maintain her own justice. This time, this time, her pride would not get in the way of what matters the most.

* * *

 _ **Shiena: Thank you! Black's a very complex person in my eyes, hesitant yet headstrong. So her gradual acceptance of her situation is pretty meaningful.**_

 _ **Eins: I got the whole child soldier thing from K-Sha? Like, how does her case end up coming to be? Is this a regular Lastation thing? Plus, I've always wondered how Noire was raised to end up so determined as a goddess and yet want to escape from it? But, yup, that's all Black wants from her and it's awfully cute too! And those soirees are pretty crazy, I've always seen Lastation as a work hard, play hard nation.**_

 _ **Zenir: Nice to see you back then! I'll keep chapters as they are posted then and shall try to keep up the work!**_

 _ **Omega Heart Chan: I don't intend on disappearing, classes just happen. So, sorry? But I can't see myself giving up on writing NepNowa anytime soon either, it's sorta keeping me sane through Nursing. I'm happy to hear you liked the continuation!**_


	9. Deal with a Devil

_**One last idea before the year ends!**_

 _ **This is a mixing of Victory and Megadimension. More so with the characters, though, there will quite a few shifts happening too. Also, Kurome, if the title is telling of anything.**_

 _ **Definitely gonna do more editing after posting this since I am rushing to have this out before midnight. But please tell me what you all think? I'm trying to motivate myself to write more and I'd really appreciate any comments and critisicm you have for me with what's going on in my life.**_

 _ **Any comment helps push me to get more out for you all. Oh! And any ideas you have is nice too, someone already suggested a marriage one.**_

 _ **Talking with others is always a fun experience.**_

 _ **Happy holidays and have a happy new year!**_

 _ **Posted: 12/31/19**_

 _ **Edited: N/A**_

* * *

Failure after failure can drive anyone mad.

It left a bitter taste on her tongue, a heavy weight on her shoulders and the echoing emptiness of their missing piece all the more apparent. She hated it.

Noire hated that no matter what she did and what route she tried to exploit it ended in nothing but a waste of effort and time. There were people counting on her. The nation of Planeptune, her friends, Uni, Blanc and Vert… how could she not create a solution?

The frustration had engulfed her, fueling her hopeless body forward. How many days were spent under her Basilicom toiling away with ideas and concepts to get the idiot they all loved back?

She couldn't even remember. Can barely even think straight or breathe without the lavender-haired fool's constant, aggravating presence lingering behind her mind. Distance didn't make her heart fonder, it drove her **insane**.

A bond that tied the reigning immortals of Gamindustri together was tearing her apart.

 _(Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. **JustMakeitallstop**.)_

Neptune was supposed to be here by now. Nepgear was supposed to be with Uni. And she couldn't even make her own little sister happy?

Her temper raged without contest now that the weight, the blanket of calm and contentedness fading from her senses.

Thank the Goddess that Blanc and Vert came for her.

Even if they had to witness one of her lesser moments, **they still came for her**. Vert didn't hesitate with a hug upon arriving at the trashed laboratory. A pathetic sight, really. The great Black Heart, the ruler of Lastation, half-stretched across her table, papers and stray machinery scattered along the floor and disheveled.

Blanc said nothing of her state, of the chaos that ran amuck without their spirited ball of violet sunshine. Her hair was tussled, the delicate brown bob without its puffy white cap and livid blue eyes dulled with exhaustion.

They all needed the embrace that followed. A sliver of warmth rarely shared between them, a moment of time that was both infinite and ephemeral; it was still lacking their one.

She wasn't one for physical contact, actually, but this was a salve Noire desperately needed after what had to be a dozen or more sleepless nights and the hole that ate at her heart the further time ticked away. There were no words needed. Not when the light tremble of Vert's body and the thinness of Blanc's frame was a good enough statement.

The four goddesses were four for a reason, one that held them all together and kept the Console continent from drowning in a foolish war.

Each one of them were bound together, a string of fate cradled them all.

That was their harmony. Their peace of mind and rambunctious friendship given form.

But it wasn't the same when one of them were gone, missing from the very dimension they were birthed in. Three was indeed a special number, but that didn't make Neptune, Purple Heart, any less needed.

What was a stalwart flame, a twisting gale and unbreaking bedrock to do without their endless sea? Noire had burned herself out, Vert defined the word restless and Blanc was crumbling.

In a mess of limbs, the trio — a broken trio, not their beloved quartet — managed to make it to a habitable corner of the room.

And really, an untouched and Planeptune standard bed was heaven after what had to be weeks upon weeks of sleeping on tables and chairs. Even if Noire had been slated as a makeshift teddy bear by a very insistent blonde idiot.

"..I've failed to make any progress so far," she confessed.

"As have I and Blanc. There's no need to blame yourself for this, Noire, not when you're juggling Planeptune and Lastation's workload." Vert hummed from her right, the arm of that side practically engulfed in what had to be heated pillows.

A grunt sounded from her left. "Those Citizen group fuckers haven't made shit easier. Not even the crazy bitch leading them has calmed her tits."

"I would truly hate to have to execute a mortal these days, but you are honestly right, dear Blanc. To become this big of a thorn in our side is worrying; that Rei Ryghts isn't an ordinary woman, if necessary we will have to extend our hand once more."

Crimson eyes peered into the high ceiling, a part of herself toying with the idea of actually killing someone. These days weren't like back then. No continent versus continent warfare and reveling in what was the brutality of survival wasn't something everyone wanted.

Black Heart knew her limits there.

 _(Noire cursed, swinging the mechanical cube into the wall and watching the parts spatter against cold iron. Magic boiled underneath her skin as she screamed and howled into a downpour of ragerage **rage**.)_

She took a supporting and management role for that purpose.

But… Rei Ryghts was feeding an uprising that distracted the CPUs from their real goal — she was an annoyance, a trifle, a squirming maggot that would eventually need a heel… to grant mercy on her.. well, given how steadily her hatred had grown, Noire didn't see a point in playing nice.

Was it cold of her to dismiss someone else's life? The thought rang empty in her mind, there was no discord, no argument of morals or of public standing. She closed her eyes and sighed. No. It didn't matter, not when they were in the way.

"Then we make plans to get rid of her." Funny, how effortless it was to decide on whether or not to commit murder.

The three of them were of the divine in the end. They weren't human, regardless of how much they could act as each. This was a logical answer too, it had positives and minimal negatives. Unless that group was a hydra in disguise, which was not a thought that would be entertained.

So were they able to cut off its head, then most of their issues would be dealt with along with any untoward feelings towards the rebellious populous. Though, Noire certainly wasn't going to hide her disdain of those who decided to side with their newest foe. What was the point in hiding her opinion and playing complacent now that this had happened?

She couldn't bother with it now that Neptune was gone.

Goddess, had she become so apathetic without her functional half by her side?

A finger tentatively poked her cheek, a brief second of contact was all it took for goosebumps to form as she jolted away from the limb. Why the hell was Blanc so cold?

"You were startin' to get that creepy look in your eye again." The smaller of the trio said, the listless blue gaze refusing to part from her own.

To look away would be to run. "I'm angry." That was a proper start, no? "Furious and yet, I can't react to it the right way; I can't even find a way to bring Neptune back–"

Vert tightened her grip on her arm, eagerly breaking the sentence before its conception. "–And we don't expect you to run yourself into the ground in order to find her, Noire, it has been weeks of work and no progress. You can't do this to yourself."

"Just because you've hit a dead end doesn't mean were fucking done. That blue bitch doesn't have shit on us."

She didn't. From what Noire had gathered, that woman was filled with power, but she had yet to show any finesse on them nor any abilities that was of note. Well, besides the ability to transport someone to an alternate dimension given Neptune's own accounts

Nevertheless, Rei Ryghts would be a pain in her ass either way. With her sort of following, there could be casualties among the people if this were done wrong.

Black didn't believe it would, but… things always had a tendency of going to hell when it came to them.

"Do you think the other dimension will end up joining in? If I end up making the way that is." Her confidence had been shot with her failures, you see. Which hurt a lot seeing as Noire was the one who invented things in the four.

Blanc rolled her eyes, "We know you, Fluffy. You're a stubborn son of a bitch and we love ya for it. Losing isn't in our dictionary either, plus you have us to pick up the slack now. You ain't alone and we aren't gonna leave you here with you losin' your shit because of Neptune's absence. We're hit hard by this too."

Just not as viciously as you, neither of them dared to say — because her bond was primarily bound to the idiot herself and the backlash was an utter bitch to deal with.

The **_void_** in her chest constricts with that as she whispered out, "I just want Neptune back."

And that alone is enough to silence the pair.

Productivity was what kept her sane, a slavish way to drown out the sensations of incompleteness. "What else can I do? I'm failing and that idiot of ours is still far from our sight." If Noire didn't have the support system she had, chances were she'd have snapped much sooner. "The emptiness of it all is driving me insane, I just can't go on without that idiot."

Their string that kept her afloat was threatening to drown her and to sink hee underneath the treacherous waves was too tempting for her sense of self.

Black was nothing without Purple and she hated that fact all the more now. The required codependency was biting her in the ass even harder and there was no way she was getting out of this unshaken, which is great.

 _(Why wasn't Neptune here yet? Why did she keep. On. Failing?! She couldn't take it, she couldn't take Uni's tears and her own regrets.)_

"Do you regret having the string that binds us then?" Vert asked, her voice an unsteady murmur.

And that made her want to swallow her tongue.

No. Of course, she didn't regret it. The constant presence of Purple Heart, of Neptune was what kept her balanced on her worst days. Days where her own rival chose to lighten her burden and shared the feeling of strain that Noire felt damn near daily.

Now the idiot was gone and her burden — the weight of living and that infernal inheritance Lastation's CPU was the sole possessor of — threatened to swallow her whole without her crutch around.

She had become soft, needy and this was the consequence of that. And now Blanc and Vert were even here to help her.

Noire felt useless. Like a child unable to do the simplest tasks. That was not how a goddess was supposed to be, how a deity that guarded and protected the realm was supposed to be. This wasn't supposed to be this kind of partner for Neptune. Goddess, Neptune has been gone for over a month now.

She should've been done with roadblock a month ago.

Instead, everything Black had built for that expressed purpose did jackshit in return and the piling amount of failures is causing what was her pride and joy in herself to burn.

Making things was what she was good at. Lastation was a producer and the highest Share holder not just because of how talented and determined the workforce was. That was the framework of her nation, it's nearly everything she built.

Being unable to do this task… what did it mean for her? Had she reached her limit? Was this how her decline started?

Blanc nudged her side, cool skin startling her out of the downward spiral that was her thoughts. "Call it a day and sleep, Red. Your head will finally be able to shut its trap then and we'll even wake you if ya have a night terror."

Haaah, she had zoned out then. Vert said nothing in response to the brunette's words, which was in itself odd. Green preferred having her opinion known for better or for worse

And a glance to her right told her why.

It was a cute sight, strands of gold caressed the lavender shades of the bed and a pair of fair arms were wrapped around her own as if Noire were her teddy bear. There were no lines of stress marring Leanbox's patron's face, no shadows haunting her and no revived immortal to ruin her night sleep. Nothing but happy dreams.

Some things never changed, it seemed. And maybe that was all she needed to move forward from this hopelessness. Crumbling under the pressure now would hurt her friends too, wouldn't it? That was no good.

"Go to sleep, we'll be here in the mornin'." Blanc mumbled into her arm, helping tug herself from her chaotic thoughts and onto the people who were with her. "We'll.. get the idiot, no time flat. I miss 'er too." The brunette whispers, livid blue eyes finally shut.

The soft noises around her numbed the worst of herself. Vert and Blanc were curled around her and so warm. That's why it wasn't a surprise that Noire followed them to dreamland soon after.

 _(Why isn't it working? Why wasn't the machine working?!)_

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

White and Green remained mostly with her in Lastation, pitching in when they could and doing her the favor of helping with two nations. She actually slept a full eight hours with them around. It helped a great deal that they were substituting for Purple.

Black was still definitely off her kilter, though. She wasn't going to lie to herself there.

So anything that kept her from jumping on the edge was a wanted respite. It had nothing to do with pride — that had been dashed aaide ever since the pair began helping her — but rather exhaustion.

Which hurt a lot more than it should have, in her opinion. Funny how quickly to fall apart she was. She couldn't even stand without feeling the tempting pull of lying down again; Noire hated it more now that she lacked her pillar.

Negative feelings were a constant without Neptune poking her head and rendering whatever whispers silent. And unsurprisingly without the pudding maniac, she found herself agreeing with what they said. Neptune was her sunshine and with her gone.. it was a lot easier to fall back onto her bad habits.

Not so much with White and Green around, but still.

Fighting voices was pretty damn impossible. Working, however, shoved them aside and if that was the best she could do for herself, so be it then. There were more important things at hand.

 _(She had to get them back. She had to. Even with them here and supporting her, even with her Universe being strong and brave and **crying** and **breaking** and **sobbing** , Noire had to do it. Time was running out, her heart can't take it.)_

The dimensional device and bringing Neptune and Nepgear back home was hers. She had to make some progress with the damnable thing soon. White and Green took it upon themselves to help her, so there was a chance she could finally do it with them.

As cheesy as that sounded, it acted as a pretty good moral boost for her. Them refusing to let her fall apart only helped encourage her.

Who knew that all she needed some company for once? Instead of the chaotic mesh of torn papers, physics books and wrecked machinery coating the floor into a literal hazard, the lab actually looked manageable for her. Black was certain that White had a hand there; Green had a tendency to be an utter slob when it came to her gaming marathons, you see.

With a clean workplace, she threw herself back to work, gradually putting things back in place.

Noire still failed to make the damn thing, yeah. But she wasn't self-destructing every single time an attempt ended in a failure.

Vert smacked some sense into her, gave her a hug or two and promptly shooed Noire out of her own lab to spend the rest of the day in the light of a colder sun.

Uni appreciated her approach a lot more than she did, it made things a lot easier for the candidate. Not having to worry about her sister made Uni a lot happier, regardless of Nepgear being lost to another dimension.

She really needed a better coping method if her own little sister got by without her partner. Then again, Uni hadn't been created with Nepgear and spent several millennia together…

Ughh, just comparing it had her feeling bad. Goddess above, it was hard being positive.

.

.

.

"This is impossible." Noire groaned, head in her hand. "I can pinpoint other dimensions but I can't seem to do it to that ONE." She slammed her free hand on the table, the other jumping at the sudden bang. "There has to be some sort of interference getting in the way of being able to get to her!"

Vert smoothed out the ruffles of her dress, taking a deep breath for what had to be a long conversation. "You believe something or something is rendering your device useless? Rei Ryghts, then?" It was unsurprisingly easy to blame her.

"Maybe? I try not to see her at all if possible, so I don't know if it's her energy signature that's passively doing it or if it's another entity. Either way, I can't get to Neptune with that thing in the way and that is a whole other level of frustrating."

"See, this is why I suggested murder."

 _(She wanted her dead. She wanted the one who took Neptune **deadgoneburied**.)_

A sigh escaped Noire as she shook her head. "I would have, but that only makes her into a martyr for her cause, Blanc."

Really, the concept was tempting for her. Ryghts wasn't a worm after all, she couldn't survive after her head was cut, right? Hopefully. Noire didn't want to be proven wrong there out of everything else.

Martyrs only made things difficult in the grand scheme of things; the most she knew of were humans, there were less than a handful that had been goddesses. A mildly horrifying discovery after taking a dive into the history archives, some of which were.. eerily lacking in details and possessing an off-putting amount of gaps between certain years.

Granted, she did get off topic and end up looking up past CPUs just in case anyone else decided to make an impromptu return. But doing so was an informative process!

With all four of the nations' archives, getting a bigger picture was easy. It was the events that took place and the missing years that caught her eye.

A huge one took place in Planeptune, spanning for about a century or two.

Not even Histoire knew what happened.

That rang alarm bells, but seeing as it didn't really apply to their current situation… Noire had to put it aside. Unfortunately.

"Creating her a martyr would only increase our chances of having a repeat incident. And as much as I adore our populus raising their arms, I do not desire a returned performance. This is a drag at our time," Vert frowned.

Blanc let out a yawn, leaning back in her chair. "You're preachin' to the choir here. All of us wanted this over and done with a month ago."

She flinched, "Sorry about that." It was her fault that they didn't have Neptune here with them.

 _(None of the machines worked. Nothing she did fixed anything!)_

Two sets of blue eyes snapped to Black's side of the table, quick to apologize for bringing up that topic. Even the impervious brunette folded to the guilt, "Shit, shit. I wasn't blamin' you for that, just Ryghts. She's the whole cause of this going down to begin with, not you."

"Yes, I don't wish to burden you with the blame, all of this remains firmly on our adversary's shoulders; she is the one interfering with our lives along with preventing Purple Heart's belated return."

Uni pat her on the arm, "You should listen to them, sister."

She gave the candidate a smile, knowing that her little sister would try to pull Noire out of her self-loathing. Even with the absence of Planeptune's pair, the banter between Blanc and Vert with the occasional additions from Uni, Rom and Ram made her feel a tad bit better. Light hearted talks were Neptune's specialty, however…

"Blanc? Will we be joining you then?" The quieter of the twins asked after a couple minutes.

The goddess in question stared at the twins, a nameless emotion crossing her face as she glanced at Vert and herself. "Do you think I should have 'em tag along?"

Vert looked at the hopeful faces of the three candidates — yes, even Uni had added her two cents, as rebellious as it was — and chuckled. "They would only follow us should we leave them behind. You'll have our backs, yes?"

""Yes!""

"Thank you, Vert." Uni said with a slight bow as the twins cheered around her.

Livid blue burned a hole in her portion of the table, "Doesn't mean I wanna get them into our sorta danger, though.."

Noire smiled sadly, patting the brunette on the back. "I know what you mean," Her eyes firmly on red-faced Uni being tugged back and forth by the twins.

 _(I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Im sorry. Imsorry. I **ms** or **r** yi **m** sor **ryi** m **so** r **r** yi **m** s **o** rr **yimsorry**.)_

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

 ** _BOOM!_**

Noire immediately ducked and covered herself as soon as the machine began to malfunction. She let out a curse as an all too well known smoke filled the room, stumbling over to the edge of the room to active the vents.

"Another failure. Damn it, I thought I made some progress this time." She growled, smashing her hand against a wall; a wave of self-hatred already rising within her.

An unfamiliar voice rang out in the room causing Noire to freeze in place as she notes the figure standing amidst the smoke. "I wouldn't call this a failure on your part, perhaps you simply have high standards." Faint footsteps moved closer to her position. "This is your… what, seventieth attempt?"

"Seventy-seventh," she corrected, form tense as she finally caught sight of the person she had unintentionally brought forth. "And you're not the one I was after. Hence the word: failure. How do you even know how many times I've tried?"

Seventy-seven tries, seventy-seven attempts that only resulted in destruction.

It was a wonder she wasn't insane yet.

The blue-haired girl raised her hands in surrender, "You've been hitting the dimension I reside in rather than the one you want to get to. It's tough not noticing the portals and explosions."

It took everything in Noire not to put her head in her hands and scream. So she had succeeded in getting a dimension, just not the dimension that contained Neptune.

She punched the wall again, uncaring of the crunch that resounds and does it again.

Noire would have repeated the process a good fifty more times, but then a hand intercepted her fist. The sensation was an unusual one. As if she were being held by something here and yet not, a physical contradiction that had similarities to…

"You're going to hurt yourself worse by doing that." The girl said, an emotion she couldn't name bleeding into her dark gaze.

"This is nothing to what I've been feeling." Black grunted, now forced to look at the one she had summoned from another realm. Her throat drying the longer she observed her.

They looked like Neptune.

At least, initially when focused on her hair style; it even ended with a pair of twin tails, though, that only vaguely resembles Purple Heart. Her eyes were pretty to look at. A peculiar, but no less beautiful, shade of dark blue transitioning into orange. Then there was her outfit, a black uniform of some sort given a punk twist.

The style was nothing like Neptune, but it was nice on the eyes. It gave the unknown in front of her an almost dangerous aura.

A feeling she couldn't actually reciprocate. Which sounded foolish when thinking about, but Noire just couldn't help it now. Not when some form of success showed herself to her. She was exhausted and finally something happened for her.

They spent a moment thinking. Both sides taking in what had occurred and making plans to further their own agenda. This could be beneficial for both of them.

 _(Well, in actuality, one of them. But the other didn't need to think that yet, yes?)_

The girl inwardly smiled at the tables turning her favor for once. "Tell me," Black looks up. "Who is it you're looking for?"

She swallowed, dimly noting they hadn't even introduced themselves to each other and yet the immortal was actually debating to tell her. "I'm trying to find my partner. Neptune, err, Purple Heart."

There was a pause in the conversation again.

Another nameless look gleamed in her guest's dual-colored eyes, one that easily sent shivers down her spine

The bond that tied Neptune and herself together — the one which had taken to what felt like clawing at her insides — crumpled from the girl's sheer aura. And the ability to breathe without the ache was a blessing.

"You're fraying at the ends. Your thread," the grip on Noire's hand tightened, "Is bordering on snapping, little goddess." She flinched at the nickname, too close to the one Purple had given her all those years ago. "The longer you go about finding her, the less time you have. Are you aware of what will become of you when that string finally snaps happens?"

Noire knew. She was aware of the consequences to their separation and has been since Neptune vanished.

Blanc and Vert couldn't comprehend it, not when she's the one who held the idiot most dear. Not when Black bore the burden the others never dared to touch.

 _(It's not as if they could understand the feeling. The loneliness that dissolves the heart and mind, left only **anger** and **pain** ; a volcano of negativity ready to erupt, covering their world in an infinite smokescreen of smog and lifeless darkness.)_

It was hard to think and even harder to refuse what had to be the wrong choice.

This was a trap. Black might be exhausted and damn near insane, but could feel it the long she stared at this girl– this **woman**.

What could she do, though? Now, after weeks and weeks of trying, failing _(breaking down, getting up, cracking a bit more)_ and failing again, the darker deity couldn't stand it any longer. Alarms rang in her mind as a part of herself struggles with the concept of pulling away from this solace of emptiness. But she did not move.

"I can help you." The woman was practically sinister with her proposition, the air of _(false, **false** )_ calm aiding in keeping Noire afloat for this talk. "A trade of sorts, actually — you're looking for someone beyond your reach, I am capable of giving your machine the boost it needs."

Black closed her eyes, knowing of what came next without a doubt. How had she found someone like this? This was unreal.

The gentle caress of fingers against her hand forced the immortal to look up, back into smug dual-colored eyes. "All you have to do is simple. One goddess for another. You will give me your hand in my endeavours and I shall do the same for yours."

She let out a sob, already knowing what choice she's decided on. It was a no brainer. Outside of her little Universe, no one was valued by Black Heart; no one but her own partner. The chance was upon her now.

The chance to get Neptune and Nepgear back.

"I'll do it." For Uni, for Planeptune, for herself. Noire was a selfish being after all, a ruthless and unrelenting deity that wouldn't let this swallow her whole very easily. "But you're not allowed to harm her, you're not allowed to either Neptune or her little sister."

Victory burned in the space between them. A tainted corrupt thing, really. Divine power chaotically strowned through the pair as their agreement was branded into reality. Heavier than a mere promise, heavier than the essence that made them almighty — an unbreakable chain sealed by their words clicked shut, never to break, never to torn apart by either opposing party.

It was only a moment. Barely even a breath before it ended. A calamitous and opportunistic bargain that both of them would come to regret somehow.

The woman allowed a faint hum to escape her, staring at her free hand with wonder. "This isn't your first rodeo with this, is it?"

She shook her head. "I've made oaths with mortals before, not fellow divinities." Noire added, just barely glaring at the second unknown goddess she's met this year.

Celestia, has she screwed herself over by doing something like this with a future enemy.

No taking it back now, however, Black inwardly sighed, at least her side of the bargain got those two out of the soon-to-be incoming fire. That was the least she could do. "Can I know the name of the being I sold my soul to, please?"

"Uzume Tennouboshi. Former ruler of Planeptune and Orange Heart; do keep in mind, however, I don't intend for this information to come out anytime soon." Which made sense.

If she was to oppose the heroes, keeping her background a secret helped in protecting herself.

Especially so when this was Neptune's **_predecessor_**.

She was going to tear her hair out by the end of this. "Noire, ruler of Lastation and Black Heart. And, as you can see, a half-baked inventor and scientist to boot." And that wound would be aching for years if she had a choice.

Dusk-colored — and yes, Black had been looking at her long enough that she titled the transition from blue to orange dusk of all things, don't judge her there — eyes glanced around the room, never once letting go of her hand. "I can't say that title suits you. After all, you have succeeded in an area many others before you failed to even grasp."

"Bringing me forth from Heart Dimension is in itself a feat, exceedingly improbable task completed by a remarkable young immortal." Uzume said with a simple shrug and another emotion burning in her gaze. "Get up and give yourself some credit, dear."

Black returned to staring at the floor and, you know, not getting flushed at the praise that was obviously done to lower her guard. "I can't even tell if you want to help me or not."

"Ahh, apologies for misconstruing things then."

All it took was a light tug and she found herself upright again. Neither found themselves breaking the connection between them. They eyed one another, searching for a crack in the armor.

Uzume smiled. It's a cold yet warm thing, serrated with teeth and comforts she doesn't even know are true or not; it filled her chest with ice and chilled her core.

Oh yes, Noire was definitely going to regret this once things were over.

.

..

….

…

….

..

.

 **APPROXIMATELY TWO YEARS LATER**

Neptune woke up in a field in the middle of nowhere. The grassy plains around her rustled and shook with the wind and as she stood, there was no other CPUs with her.

She was alone.

Her bonds were still there. The ties that bound her to her friends pulsed with life, a sharp contrast with her time in Ultra Dimension and Zero Dimension — that sense of nothingness failed to reach her here. But, the three of them were gone.

They had been with her before the light had blinded them all, before they had triumphed over the Gold Third that challenged them.

But she woke up alone. A feeling of dread and fear sat in her chest beside the ever constant, ever kind warmth that Neptune knew was from Noire. There's no response from her, though. Not even tugging on the bond got a reply or reaction from the other side. Noire was here somewhere and yet was not there at all. Something was wrong.

And then she found out someone else ruled the Basilicoms, ruled Planeptune and the other nations. The four goddesses were forgotten and no sight of them have been made.

Neptune was alone with the Candidates and a handful of allies and she just can't stand it.

She couldn't do it without them.

"Neppy? What's wrong? You're not smiling.." She closed her eyes, inwardly sighing as the other side of the screen looked on in confusion and worry.

Doing this went against Histoire, but Neptune didn't care. She couldn't think about that now. Not when she's stuck between a rock and a head place. "Do you mind coming over? We… we have a problem."

Noire took over. Or rather, the other Noire did. The Noire that wasn't hers. "What's wrong this time? I thought we aren't allowed to come over during that Shift Period of yours or whatever."

They weren't, but Neptune had to do something. With the progress they were making in each nation, some things had to give. The Candidates and the few allies wasn't enough to take back four separate nations. Neptune couldn't push them with the others gone.

Plutia would enjoy a break from having to listen to little Histy all day too. They could do this.

"Change of plans. This protagonist can't seem to win without a good party after all." The lavender-haired girl laughed, bitterness boiling in her chest. "Someone did something to my Gamindustri." The other dimension stilled. "None of the CPUs are ruling their nations and.. and my Noire, Blanc and Vert have gone missing."

She would get them back. This was just the work of another run of the mill bad guy just begging for Nep to come and ruin their day.

Everything was going to be fine, Neptune helped beat a giant Dark CPU and there shouldn't be much that could best that, right? That was boss level stuff.

Vert sighed, hiding away the panic with her words. "Well, it would be a shame if my alternate self were to remain missing. I'd hate to lose a goddess that's capable of comprehending, unlike some people."

As agreements rang out between the Ultra Dimension deities, Neptune felt a real smile spread across her face as a blossom of hope finally began to bloom in earnest. Everything had spiraled out of control when she woke up to only Nepgear and the Candidates, but this? This could work, she could actually do this — there was no way Nep could fail now.

She couldn't fail. _She really couldn't_.

Enduring was the least Neptune could do in this altered Gamindustri. A redesigned game board didn't stand a chance against her, the Candidates and the others' combined forces; all she needed to do was find out where the others were and everything was set.

So as the sun began to set, the lone deity planned.

It was the least Neptune could do to banish the dread building in her stomach.

And in a realm under the darkness of the stars, a trio of divinities fell deeper into the delusions of a goddess who had long since lost herself. The new game plus route was already underway.

* * *

 ** _Eins: Glad you liked it! And Ultra Noire is a mixed bag for me, she's not bad but inexperienced and harsh? She fired that one member of her Basilicom because of the bad news he told, so, yeah. The girl has some work for her before she can best OG Noire._**

 ** _Shiena: Hearing that is really warms my heart and don't worry, I have a second part for Impact in the works too! Confused amnesiac Black and guilty Purple is a go! Though, that reveal does take a bit to happen in story._**

 ** _Zenir: I shall do my best to continue! Please tell me whatcha think about this one-shot?_**


End file.
